Army officer, soldier, 3 militants killed in Kashmir gunfight

Srinagar, April 26 (IANS) An army officer, a soldier and three separatist guerrillas were killed in a south Kashmir gunfight that ended Saturday morning, an official said.

A senior police officer told IANS that the three guerrillas were killed in an encounter in Karewa Manloo village in south Kashmir's Shopian district that started Friday afternoon and ended Saturday morning.

"Two militants were killed yesterday (Friday) and an army major was martyred during the operation," the official said.

"The third militant was killed today (Saturday) morning while the soldier who was injured yesterday (Friday), succumbed to critical injuries.

"The operation was carried out on specific information by 44 battalion of Rashtriya Rifles and the special operations group (SOG) of the state police," the official said, adding that the bodies of the guerrillas had been recovered from the site.

"We have also recovered their weapons and ammunition. One of the slain militants is a foreigner while the other two are locals," the officer said.