SRINAGAR (Occupied), Nov 11: Seven

                                          Indian troops and nine freedom fighters
                                          were among 19 killed on Thursday in two
                                          fierce gunbattles in the held Kashmir,
                                          officials said. 

                                          Six border guards, five Mujahideen and
                                          three civilians died in a firefight at Panzipura
               village in northern Kashmir, after the freedom fighters started firing at a
               paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) which had raided their hideout. 

               At least eight houses were gutted in a blaze sparked by the gunbattle. Police
               said the area had been cordoned off to track down any of the militants still
               holed up inside the village.-AFP