Indian security forces killed four militants after a fierce gun battle in the restive northeastern state of Manipur on Saturday, police said. Police said the four heavily armed militants from the People's United Liberation Front (PULF) were shot near Ribbing village, about 15 km (10 miles) east of the state capital, Impale. "Our boys surrounded the hideout of the militants in a forested area to catch them, but the militants fired at us and in the ensuing encounter four of them were killed on the spot," a police spokesman told Reuters by phone from Impale.