Kashmir battle 'leaves 25 dead'

---

The Indian army says 17 militants have been killed in a five-day-long gun battle with security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, reports BBC.
Eight soldiers have also died in the fighting in Shamsabari, the army said. It said the fighting had stopped for the moment and the troops were carrying out combing operations.
Overall, violence has fallen significantly in Indian-administered Kashmir since Delhi and Islamabad began peace talks in 2004.
Defence spokesman Col JS Brar said that the fighting broke out in the higher reaches of the Shamsabari range on Friday morning after troops launched an operation to flush out the militants.
The identity of the militants killed in the gun battle is not known, and there has been no word from any militant group.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says this has been the longest and bloodiest fire fight in Indian-administered Kashmir this year.
A ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani troops along the Line of Control - the de facto border that divides the disputed region between the two countries - is still holding.
However, the peace process has been in abeyance since November's attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) which killed at least 179 people and which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.