Nine people, including four Army personnel, were killed in separatist violence in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.
A three-day-long gunbattle, which ended late Tuesday, took place between separatist guerrillas and the counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Ayatmulla, 58 km from Srinagar.
A senior police official said six people including an army captain, two RR soldiers and three guerrillas were killed.
"The operation at Ayatmulla has ended. The cordon around the village was lifted. Bodies of three guerrillas were recovered from the debris of a house. An RR captain and two soldiers also died in the encounter," the officer said.
Police sources said three houses were destroyed during the fierce encounter in the village.
In a separate incident in Baramulla on Monday night, militants forced entry into a house at Kheypora, 45 km from Srinagar and opened fire at the inmates, killing a soldier identified as Abdul Rashid Bhat who was on leave and his brother Mohammad Shafi Bhat.
The Hizbul Mujaheedin outfit claimed responsibility for the killings.
Hizb militants also shot at a civilian at Sopore in the same district on Monday. According to the police, the separatists suspected the victim, Ahsanul Haq, of being an informer of the security forces. The guerrillas fired from a close range at Haq, who was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his wounds, said a police official.
{{/usCountry}}Hizb militants also shot at a civilian at Sopore in the same district on Monday. According to the police, the separatists suspected the victim, Ahsanul Haq, of being an informer of the security forces. The guerrillas fired from a close range at Haq, who was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his wounds, said a police official.
{{/usCountry}}A Hizb spokesman called up a local news agency to claim responsibility for the killing.