Security forces on Friday surrounded a house in India-administered Kashmir where a group of suspected Islamist militants had taken a woman hostage, a news report said.
The army and state police cordoned off Maidanpora village in the Kupwara district, located 87 kilometres north-west of the state capital Srinagar, DPA reported.
A police officer said four militants believed to be from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, including a top commander, were inside the house, the IANS news agency reported.
The operation was launched Thursday night after the army received information about the presence of militants in the house, it said.
The LeT is the biggest militant group operating in the insurgency-hit Himalayan region. It is seeking to halt Indian rule in Kashmir and establish an Islamic state in South Asia.
More than 45,000 people - including civilians, militants and security forces personnel - have been killed in a militant secessionist movement in India-administered Kashmir, which peaked in the late 1980s.
India has accused Pakistan of aiding the militants. Pakistan has denied the charge, calling the combatants freedom fighters.