Srinagar, India  -  A senior militant leader was shot dead by security forces in India-administered Kashmir, police said Wednesday.

Sajad Afghani was the "chief operations commander" of the Pakistan-based Islamic militant outfit Harkat-ul Mujahideen, a police official said.

Afghani was killed during a raid by security forces on an abandoned hospital building in Sopore town, about 45 kilometres north of Jammu and Kashmir state capital Srinagar late on Tuesday, a local police official said.

He said a policeman had been injured during the raid.

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.

Indian security forces claimed to have killed three leaders of two other militant groups - the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Hizbul Mujahideen over the past two days.

All three militant groups have been operating in the region for over a decade. (dpa )