Five die in gun-battle in India held-Kashmir
Pakistan Times Kashmir Desk

SRINAGAR (IHK): Five people, including two guerrillas and an Indian Army soldier were killed in a gun-battle in India held-Kashmir on Saturday.

Indian Troops of 29 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) surrounded the Palhallan Pattan village in Baramulla district Saturday afternoon on specific information and launched house-to-house searches, a police officer said.

A raiding RR team ran into two guerrillas, resulting in on-the-spot death of rifleman Ranjeet Singh and an other, he said.

"An Indian army major and two other persons were also injured in the exchange of heavy firing and were taken to hospital for treatment," Indo-Asian News Service quoted the officer as saying.

The troops surrounded the house immediately and engaged the two hiding activists in a fierce gun-battle that continued till late Saturday afternoon.

Two Hizbul Mujaheedin guerrillas, including Ghulam Hassan Khan were killed.

Police said the house where the guerrillas were hiding was also destroyed in the aftermath.

In another incident, four people, including a former counter-insurgent, were injured in a grenade blast at Handwara in north Kashmir's Kupwara district Saturday.●