SRINAGAR, Nov 25: Indian troops killed three suspected militants and seized a huge cache of explosives, while Kashmiri fighters killed two policemen in an ambush, officials said on Thursday.

The ambush near the town of Anantnag left two policemen dead and two others injured, including an officer, a police spokesman said. He said the police party was returning to Anantnag after conducting a raid on a suspected hideout in a village when militants attacked their vehicles with assault rifles and grenades. "Both the policemen died on the spot," the spokesman said.

Jamiatul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to local media. A spokesman said four policemen were killed in the ambush. Meanwhile, troops recovered 348 kilograms of white plastic RDX explosive from a militant hideout in Athmuqam village, the army said.

"The raid on the hideout was conducted this morning on a tip-off," an army spokesman said. In the same area troops shot dead a militant during an overnight clash, police said. Anantnag is the first district from which India withdrew some of its forces this month. In Pulwama, troops shot dead two militants. -AFP