SRINAGAR, Feb 9: Indian troops have shot dead two Mujahideen who had barricaded themselves inside a mosque in occupied Kashmir, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

Considerable damage was inflicted on the mosque in Tootigund village, some 85 kilometres north of Srinagar, during an overnight gunbattle.

“There was a fierce exchange of fire between the militants (Mujahideen) and the security troops who had ringed the mosque. The siege finally ended after the troops gunned down both the militants,” said a senior police official.

A spokesman for India’s Border Security Force said the slain fighters belonged to Jaish-i-Mohammad. He identified the two as Zafar Khan alias Abu Khai and Gulam Shakoor — both allegedly from Sialkot.—AFP