Security forces killed six suspected militants in a gun battle Saturday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the army said. Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. Anil Kumar Mathur said the clash began after troops and police sealed off a forested area near Lurgam following a tip that militants were hiding there. Lurgam is 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state. Mathur said the rebels belonged to the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, which authorities have blamed for a number of bombings and attacks, including an assault on India's Parliament in 2001. With the area still sealed off, there was no independent confirmation of the incident and no immediate comment from the rebel group. Last week, eight people, including two soldiers and a news photographer, were killed in a fierce battle between rebels and government forces in the Jammu area of the disputed Himalayan region. The Indian military also accused Pakistani troops of firing at an Indian army post Wednesday across the heavily guarded de facto border. Pakistan denied the charge.
