An Indian army captain and two soldiers have been killed in a prolonged encounter with militants in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Clashes began early on Tuesday morning in the Chinkipora area in Sopore town, 54km (33 miles) north of Srinagar city.
A defence spokesman told the BBC that troops laid siege to a militant hideout after receiving a tip-off. The operation is still continuing.
Thousands of troops are fighting a two decade-old insurgency in Kashmir.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says these are the highest casualties suffered by the Indian forces in an operation in Kashmir so far this year.
'Tough fight'
The operation was launched jointly by the army, paramilitary troops and police.
The militants fired at the security forces when they were asked to surrender.
The area was cordoned off and a heavy gun battle began.
A police officer told the BBC that the militants were armed with grenade launchers and sophisticated weapons and put up a tough fight.
The fighting continued till late at night and the operation began again on Wednesday morning, although there has been no firing so far.
A defence spokesman said the troops were treading carefully because there may be more militants hiding in the area.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
