Kathua (J-K), Mar 26 : Farmers who had lost their agricultural land to border fencing in Kashmir are happy with realignment of fencing border.

Farmers of Kathua district have thanked government for fencing re-alignment.

"Earlier, almost half of our land was wasted due to fencing near border areas... Now we are feeling happy after re-alignment of fencing... the Government has done a good job for us," said Maggar Singh, a farmer.

Now nearly 1100 acres of land is available for cultivation.

Srinagar, March 25 : The Indian Army on Wednesday said that the Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) along with some other foreign outfits, were responsible for the gunbattle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir''s Kupwara district.

Addressing the press here, Brigadier General Gurmeet Singh said that high-order arms and ammunitions recovered from the terrorists indicate Pakistani help.

He pointed out that the terrorists couldn''t have accessed the weaponry without state backing.

Srinagar, Mar 25: The five day long gunbattle between militants and security forces inside the Hafrada forest in Jammu and Kashmir''s Kupwara district finally ended on Tuesday evening.

The encounter, which is continuing since March 20, has claimed the lives of seventeen militants and eight security personnel.

On Tuesday, six more militants were killed.

Four soldiers and five militants were killed on Monday while an ultra died a day before. On Saturday, four troops, including Major Mohit Sharma, and two militants were killed.

Jammu, Mar 24 : Displaced Kashmiri Pandits staged a protest in front of the Election Commission office in Jammu, demanding inclusion in the voter''s list.

Kashmiri Pandits, who have migrant''s status in the region, want their names to be included in the voter''s list so that they can exercise their franchise in the upcoming general elections.

Srinagar, Mar 24 : With mustard blossoms in full bloom, farmers in Kashmir are hopeful of bumper mustard crop this year due to timely rain.

Mustard crop is cultivated during winter in an estimated 60 thousand hectares of paddy fields in the Kashmir valley, which according to an estimate is about 40 percent of the total area under paddy.

The crop is sown in September-October after paddy is harvested. As temperatures rise after winter, rapeseed-mustard crop blossoms and is harvested towards the end of May.

Srinagar, Kashmir - Five Muslim militants and four soldiers were killed as fighting between security forces and rebels hiding in dense forests in India-administered Kashmir entered a fifth day on Tuesday, officials said.

Four troopers succumbed to injuries sustained during combat in the Hafrooda forests in northern Kupwara district on Monday, defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar told reporters.

Five militants were also killed in the clashes on Monday raising the number of slain militants to 11.