Srinagar, Kashmir - At least three top militants, all senior commanders of Muslim militant outfits, were killed in separate gun-battles in India-administered Kashmir, police said Tuesday.

Following a tip-off about the presence of militants from Lashkar-e-Toiba in a village in Kishtwar district 170 kilometres east of winter capital Jammu, the local police laid a cordon in the area early on Tuesday.

"During the search operation, the militants fired on the police starting the gun-battle. Abu Hamza, the self-styled zonal commander of the LeT was killed in the encounter. Two other militants managed to escape," a police official said requesting anonymity.

A police constable was also killed in the gun-fight, police said.

In another gun-battle in the Baramulla district in northern Kashmir on Monday, two senior commanders of the Hizbul Mujahideen were shot dead by the police.

The slain militants included Zahoor Ahmad who was acting as the finance chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen and Mohammad Yusuf, another senior commander from the same group who was active in the district for a number of years.

Kashmir, a disputed region between India and neighbouring Pakistan, has witnessed the deaths of more than 40,000 people - civilians, militants and security forces - in secessionist violence since 1990.

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding and abetting Kashmiri militants, a charge Pakistan has denied. Islamabad said it supports the Kashmiris' legitimate aspirations for freedom. (dpa)