( dpa ) - At least four security personnel and a suspected Muslim militant were killed in a gunbattle near Srinagar, capital of India-administered Kashmir on Sunday, police said.
A team of the state police and the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) raided a suspected militant hideout in the Shalimar area, located 20 kilometres from the city centre, a police officer said.
"Two militants believed to be hiding inside the house opened indiscriminate fire in which three policemen and a CRPF man were killed. Four other policemen were also injured," Srinagar police chief Afadal Mujtaba said.
Mujtaba said that in the shoot-out, a militant, identified as Abu Hafiz of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) group was also killed. The LeT is the biggest militant group operating in India-administered Kashmir.
Police said the other militant could be hiding in the area and it had launched a search operation to arrest him.
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.