A top militant leader and an Indian army officer were killed in a fierce gun battle in Indian Kashmir, police said on Monday. A soldier was also killed and three others wounded in the nine-hour battle that started in the revolt-torn region's Baramulla district, north of Srinigar, late on Sunday, B. Srinivas, a senior police officer, said. Hafiz Nasir, a senior militant in Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was responsible for a series of militant attacks, including suicide attacks, and was shot dead during the battle, Srinivas said. Lashkar-e-Taiba is based in Pakistan, Indian authorities say. Violence has fallen significantly in Kashmir since India and Pakistan, both of whom claim the region in full but rule it in parts, began peace talks in 2004. But the Indian army said last week is was still expecting militant incursions from Pakistani Kashmir to increase once the snow starts melting along the mountainous border region as summer approaches. __
