SRINAGAR, Dec 24: Four suspected militants were killed and three policemen were wounded in two separate shootouts overnight in the Indian portion of Kashmir, army and police said Sunday.

Nearly 400 people fled their homes as the first encounter raged in Tilgam, a village 45kms north of Srinagar, said Col Hemant Juneja, an army spokesman.

The army killed the two suspected militants hours after losing an army officer in the fighting on Saturday, Col Juneja said.

Separately, two suspected militants were killed and three policemen wounded on Saturday night during a clash in Dangarpora, a village 60kms north of Srinagar, said Imtyaz Hussain, superintendent of police.

Suspected insurgents attacked police after the latter searched the village, Mr Hussain said.

Police found the bodies of the two militants after the fighting ended on Sunday, he said.

A man claiming to be the spokesman of the Al Mansoorian militant group told a local newspaper on Saturday that the outfit was involved in the fighting in Tilgam. — AP