Indian army kills 11 militants in Kashmir

The violence in the Muslim majority state state was the heaviest since separatists and India held historic talks last week which they sealed with a joint call for an end to bloodletting.

Six of the militants were killed Friday in the village of Kumhar Mohalla, in the northern Indian Kashmir district of Kupwara, an army spokesman said.

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"Two of the slain militants have been identified as divisional commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba," the spokesman said, referring to a hardline Islamic rebel group responsible for most of the suicide attacks in Indian Kashmir.

One of the other slain rebels was a Lashkar operative and the other three belonged to another hardline group, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami, the spokesman said.

The six were killed in an encounter during a "cordon and search" operation by the Indian army's Kilo Force -- a counter-insurgency wing operating in northern Kashmir, he said.

Three Indian soldiers were injured in the clash. One house was damaged.

Another Lashkar member was captured alive during the operation, the spokesman said, adding that the Indian army recovered seven AK rifles, grenades and other ammunition from the site of encounter.

Also on Friday Indian troops shot dead three militants in the Rafiabad area of northern Baramulla district, the spokesman said.

"The three were killed during a search-out operation conducted on a tip off," the spokesman said.

In overnight encounters another two rebels were killed by the army in two separate encounters in Baramulla district and in Poonch in southern Kashmir, the spokesman said.

Indian troops have intensified their operations against Muslim militants since Indian and Pakistani leaders agreed early this month to resume talks on all the issues, including Kashmir in February.

On January 16 Indian army killed the chief commander operations of region's dominant rebel group Hizbul Mujahedin, Gazi Naseer-u-din along with Hizbul's publicity and financial chief.

More than 40,000 people have died in Indian Kashmir since the eruption of anti-Indian insurgency in 1989. Separatists put the toll twice as high.