15 Killed In Kashmir Violence

Five suspected militants and two army jawans were killed in a ferocious gunbattle in the frontier district of Kupwara, security sources yesterday said.

Elsewhere in the valley, eight people including three militants, a policeman and a surrendered militant were killed and 13 others wounded in unabated violence, while 13 persons, two of them self-styled commanders, were arrested since last evening, an official spokesman said here.

The spokesman said security forces raided a militant hideout in Kalaban forest area of Machil sector in border district of Kupwara, during which militants fired upon the search party and in the ensuing shootout, three militants and two security personnel were killed.

The sources said bodies of five suspected militants have been recovered from the site of the encounter so far.

They said the encounter began on Friday and both sides reportedly used heavy arms.