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Fighting near Kashmir mosque ends, two killed

Two suspected Islamic militants who laid siege to a mosque in Kashmir have been killed after a night-long firefight with security forces, an official said Monday.

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SRINAGAR: Two suspected Islamic militants who laid siege to a mosque in Kashmir have been killed after a night-long firefight with security forces, an official said Monday.   

The rebels had fled to the mosque after soldiers raided their hideout in northern Bandipora town late Sunday, sparking a gunbattle in which a soldier was killed and two others were injured.   

Skirmishes continued through the night, during which the militants had left the mosque and holed up in an adjoining house, said R.K. Bhargva, deputy inspector general of the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF).   

Several houses were damaged during the fighting in which both sides also used grenades.   

"The fighting has stopped and we have recovered two bodies from one of the damaged houses," Bhargva said.   

"We believe both are militants. But we are still trying to ascertain the identity of the dead," he said. "Militants had been firing from these houses and (the) mosque."   

Bhargva told AFP that a search of the area, including of the mosque, was under way.   

Mosque sieges are common in Kashmir and the storming of religious places by security forces often leads to protests.   

Bandipora is part of Baramulla district bordering the Pakistani zone of divided Kashmir.   

At the weekend, 12 suspected militants were shot dead after they infiltrated into Kashmir from Pakistan.

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