Fierce battle rages on Kashmir border

Jammu: A fierce gunbattle between security forces and separatist militants continued to rage on Sunday in the dense mountainous forest in frontier Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir after over 60 hours in which seven people - four militants and three security personnel - have been killed.

The army laid siege to the Pati Tar mountainous forest near Mendhar in Poonch on Thursday following a tip off about the presence of a group of hardcore militants in hideouts there. Some top commanders of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfits are reported to be present in the hideouts.

The army lost two soldiers when they came under heavy fire while laying cordon.

Colonel D.K. Kachari, spokesman of the army Northern Command at Udhampur, said the troops had killed four militants but their bodies were not recovered. He said: "Soldiers on the ground have sighted the bodies."

In the continuing gun battle, one Special Police Officer (SPO) - temporary recruits in police to assist anti-militancy operations - Naresh Kumar, was killed on Saturday.

Senior army and police officers are camping in the area to monitor the situation.

An official said: "We do not have any idea about the number of militants present there as they are firing from different positions, which means that either they are changing their locations or have split themselves in groups."