SRINAGAR: The Indian army says three militants were killed in two gunbattles with government forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Col. Rajesh Kalia said on Tuesday that police and soldiers engaged two militants in a village near Ganderbal town after cordoning off the village following a tip. An Indian army statement said another person was killed when soldiers intercepted and battled a group of militants in Sunderbani sector near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides the disputed region between India and Pakistan. It said other militants fled toward the Pakistan-administered portion of Kashmir. There was no independent confirmation of the incidents. Rebel groups in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan since 1989. More than 68,000 people have been killed.