January 08, 2009	Thursday	Muharram 10, 1430

SRINAGAR, Jan 7: A gunbattle between Indian troops and a group of militants raged for a seventh day on Wednesday, making it one of the longest battles in occupied Kashmir in years, officials said.

The fighting erupted last Thursday in the Poonch sector after soldiers and police, acting on a tip-off, carried out a search operation in a densely forested area.

The battle has so far left four militants, two soldiers and a policeman dead and several Indian personnel wounded.

The militants were using natural caves as hideouts, senior army officer Brigadier Gurdeep Singh said.

“We are carrying out a deliberate operation to wear out the terrorists and to ensure that the casualties among our own forces are avoided,” he said.

“Heavy winter fog, thick forests and difficult terrain is causing hindrance and making operations difficult,” said another Indian official, Sunil Kumar.

“It is estimated that there are approximately 6-7 militants holed up in the caves,” he said.

Overall violence has fallen significantly across the occupied region since India and Pakistan began slow-moving peace talks in 2004. But New Delhi has paused that dialogue after the Mumbai attacks, which it blames on Pakistan-based militants.—Agencies