Indian security forces have killed four rebel fighters during a gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir with two of the dead former police officers who had defected.
The firefight on Friday took place in Pulwama district, where India intensified security operations after a suicide attack killed 42 paramilitary troops in February.
“Four terrorists have been eliminated,” police in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir said on Twitter.
Among those killed were two police deserters who quit earlier this week. The fighters were believed to be the members of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based group that claimed responsibility for the February attack.