Suspected militants attacked a police squad in the India-held Kashmir, triggering a gunfight that left three civilians, one officer and an assailant dead, police said Sunday.

The unit came under fire Saturday night as it reached a road accident site on a key highway connecting the disputed Kashmir Valley with the rest of India, said senior police officer SP Pani.

He said the civilians killed in the gunfight were road construction officials of a private company.

One civilian and one police officer were also injured in the shootout, he said.

Police believe two suspected militants escaped under the cover of darkness after the officers swiftly retaliated in Malpora, a village 65 kilometres south of Srinagar.

On Sunday, thousands of people participated in the burial of the suspected militant who came from a village in IHK. They chanted "Go India, Go Back", "We Want Freedom" amid a gun salute by 'militants' who joined the procession.

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