Seven militants and two army troopers were among nine persons killed in fierce separate gunfights in the north Kashmir Kupwara border district on Wednesday.
A police spokesman in Srinagar said, five militants were gunned down by troops of the Dogra Regiment in the north Kashmir Dardhare village, 110 km from Srinagar.
Security forces surrounded the village following intelligence reports that a group of militants had taken refuge in the village.
"The militants who were hiding began indiscriminate heavy fire on the troops triggering a pitched gunfight which ended late on Wednesday. Five militants were killed and a large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the slain militants," the spokesman said.
"The slain were part of a group of intruding militants belonging to Lashkar-e-Tayiba," he said.
Two more militants were killed in another gunfight in Chogal village, 80 km from Srinagar, taking the total number of militants killed in Kupwara to seven, while two army troopers were also killed in the gunfight.