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Top J&K ultras killed

SRINAGAR: Government troops killed four Islamic militants, two of them wanted commanders, in fresh fighting in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday. Three of the militants were killed during an early morning gunbattle in the village of Dooru, near northern Sopore town, a police spokesman said. One of the dead was identified as Osman Qari, a Pakistani national and the deputy chief commander of Harkat-ul-Mujahedin, a hard-line militant group. A fourth rebel, Mushtaq Sofi alias Zahid, was shot dead during another brief gun fight in southern Pulwama district on Monday, the spokesman said, adding he was also a “wanted” commander with the Jaish-e-Mohammed group. — AFP

Six LTTE women dead

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan troops shot dead at least six women fighters of the Tamil Tigers during a clash in the north of the island, the defence ministry said Monday. Following an attack on a bunker line of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) along the de facto front line with guerrilla-held territory, the troops found six bodies of women fighters on Sunday, the ministry said. — AFP

NATO soldiers killed

KABUL: Two NATO soldiers were killed on Monday when a home-made bomb hit their vehicle in eastern Afghanistan. — AFP