Three suspected militants were killed in an overnight gun battle with soldiers in a village in India-held Kashmir (IHK), an Indian army spokesman said Monday.

Rajesh Kalia said troops cordoned off the village near the tourist resort of Pahalgam after receiving a tip that fighters were hiding out in a private home there.

"On specific intelligence army soldiers cordoned off the village on Sunday evening and the gun battle started," Kalia told AFP. "Three terrorists have been killed. Their bodies and weapons have been retrieved."

A local police officer said soldiers using mortar fire had destroyed the house.

Hundreds of thousands of troops are deployed in IHK, where rebel groups have for decades been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan.

The restive Himalayan region suffered a spike in violence last year after the killing in July of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in a gun battle with soldiers.