Violence in Kashmir kills five

Four suspected Islamic militants and one soldier have been killed in gun battles in war-torn Kashmir.

Police say the deaths came during search operations conducted by the Indian army.

Two suspected guerrillas, who were hiding in a home, began firing when Indian troops demanded that they surrender.

The suspected guerrillas and one soldier were killed in the shootout in Hillar.

Hillar is a village near Kokernag, 45 miles south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir.

Two other suspected rebels were killed in separate confrontation in Tral, 30 miles southeast of Srinagar, police said.

Shooting broke out after Indian security forces there ordered local residents to wait outside while their homes were searched for suspected militants.

More than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989.

The government says more than 30,000 people have been killed. Human rights groups put the death toll at twice that number.

India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the militants to fight in India-controlled Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.