Three militants were gunned down in a fierce gunfight with Indian troops Thursday in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and troops broke out in the morning at Dobwan forest area in Khurhama of Lolab in frontier district of Kupwara near Line of Control (LoC), about 125 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"In a gunfight today that broke out in Lolab, three militants have been killed so far," an Indian military spokesman told Xinhua. "An operation in the area is going on."

Indian police and troopers according to officials have not suffered any damage in the stand-off.

The identity of the slain militants was being ascertained, police said.

According to the military spokesman, joint contingents of military and police cordoned off the area following intelligence inputs suggesting the presence of militants.

Last week four militants and an Indian military trooper were killed in a similar gunfight in neighboring Tangdhar area.

Militant groups have been engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfights between the two sides take place intermittently.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. 

source : xinhua