Militants, security forces exchange fire in Kashmir

A gun battle erupted between security forces and militants in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday, two police sources said, the first since mobile phone links were restored in the region in an effort to restore normalcy after a prolonged shutdown.

Soldiers raided a village in south Kashmir, long a hotbed of separatist revolt, following intelligence reports that militants had taken shelter there, said the sources who declined to be identified.

There were no confirmed reports of casualties from the fighting, they said.

India on Monday restored some mobile phone services in Kashmir, two months after imposing a communications clampdown.

New Delhi cut off telephone and internet lines in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of revoking the state's special rights on August 5, striking down long-standing constitutional provisions for the Muslim-majority region that is also claimed by neighbouring Pakistan.