Srinagar, Kashmir - State police and Indian army troops stormed a militant hideout in the northern state of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Friday, killing four militants and seizing arms and ammunition. Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and the Indian army stormed a house where the four suspected militants were holed up in Shopian district in southern Kashmir, about 50 kilometers south of capital Srinagar.
All the four militants reportedly belong to the banned militant outfits of Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr.
The security forces also arrested a militant from northern Kashmir. One Chinese pistol with a magazine and eight rounds were recovered from him.
The encounter with the militants started late on Thursday when a joint search party of security officials was attacked by the militants from a house, a state police spokesman told news agency PTI.
Four AK assault rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.
Kashmir, a disputed region between India and neighbouring Pakistan, has witnessed the deaths of more than 40,000 people - civilians, militants and security forces - in secessionist violence since 1990.
New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding and abetting Kashmiri militants, a charge Pakistan has denied. Islamabad said it supports the Kashmiris' legitimate aspirations for freedom.
