SRINAGAR, India – Three militants were killed Tuesday in two gunbattles with government forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, the Indian army said.

Col. Rajesh Kalia said police and soldiers engaged two militants in a village near Ganderbal town after cordoning off the village following a tip.

Kalia said soldiers recovered two rifles at the site of the clash.

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.

The statement said the group of militants had entered the Indian side of Kashmir from the Pakistani-controlled part, and fled back toward the Pakistan-administered portion after the gunbattle.

There was no independent confirmation of the incidents.

Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. 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 in the armed uprising and ensuing Indian military crackdown.