SRINAGAR, India, Nov 25: Four Indian soldiers and two Islamic militants were killed in a fierce gun battle in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir, the army said on Saturday.

The fighting erupted late on Friday when soldiers raided a militant hideout in the southern village of Neldora following a tip off, army spokesman Anil Kumar Mathur said.

“In the initial burst of firing by the militants four soldiers were seriously hurt. They later died in hospital,” Mathur said, adding two militants were killed in the ensuing night-long gun battle,

“We are trying to ascertain their identity,” he said.

Indian Kashmir is in the grip of a 17-year-old insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 44,000 people dead by official count.

Separatists say the toll is at least twice as high. —AFP