Lashkar-i-Taiba has not confirmed Uni's death and could not immediately be reached for comment. — Photo by AFP

SRINAGAR: The head of a militant group blamed for the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attack was killed in a gunbattle with government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.

Officer Imtiyaz Hussain said Wednesday that Lashkar-i-Taiba commander Abdullah Uni was killed the night before in a town near Srinagar.

Officials say Uni has been planning and carrying out attacks against Indian troops, politicians and civilians since he entered Indian-administered Kashmir in 2005 from the Pakistani-administered side of the divided Himalayan region.

Lashkar-i-Taiba has not confirmed Uni's death and could not immediately be reached for comment. The group is one of several fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan.