Islamic militants killed in Indian Kashmir

Soldiers killed two Islamic insurgents in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir today, police said.

Security forces were told that rebels were hiding in a village called Khazanbal 40 miles south of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's biggest city.

Senior police officer Farooq Ahmed said troops surrounded a house where the militants were hiding and a battle went on for several hours. Two soldiers were wounded. Police believe the suspects were members of Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen, Kashmir's largest rebel group.

Violence has escalated in the Indian Kashmir recently after years of attacks becoming less frequent.

Last week rebels attacked government forces in Srinagar's commercial hub of Lalchowk. Two militants, one police officer and one civilian were killed in a 22-hour battle.

Anti-Indian sentiments are strong in the Muslim majority region, over which India and Pakistan dispute sovereignty. More than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Muslim militants, which Islamabad denies.