SRINAGAR: Police in Indian-administered Kashmir said two suspected militants and a police officer were killed in a gunbattle in the disputed Himalayan region.    

Police officer Manoj Panditha said in addition to the dead, one Indian army soldier was wounded in the fighting late Monday in the southern Kashmir village of Dodhiporao.

Panditha said Tuesday that police believe men belonged to the Lashkar-i-Taiba militant group.

There has been no independent confirmation of the incident.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

About 68,000 people have been killed since 1989 in an armed rebellion against Indian rule and in an ensuing Indian crackdown that has largely crushed the militants.

India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the militants, a charge Islamabad denies.