Gunfight between militants, Indian troops erupts in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR - A fierce gunfight between militants and Indian troops Wednesday broke out in the restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The gunfight erupted at Sofi Hamam locality in Chankhan of the volatile Sopore town, about 52 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"The gunfight is going on and reinforcements of Indian army and police were rushed to take on militants present there," said a police official posted in Sopore.

Reports said troops cordoned off the area early Wednesday following intelligence inputs that a militant commander was in a house.

"We have reports that a militant commander of Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) is holed up in a house and during our cordon the contingents were fired upon, triggering a gunfight,"the official said details were awaited.

"We can hear the sound of gun shots from a distance," Ghulam Mohammed ,a local said.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. The gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.