New Delhi - At least four suspected Muslim rebels were killed in a gun battle with security forces in India's northeastern state of Manipur early on Saturday, a news report said.

A police spokesman told the IANS news agency that the encounter between a joint police team and paramilitary and a group of militants belonging to the outlawed People's United Liberation Front (PULF) took place on the outskirts of the state capital Imphal.

"Based on specific inputs that a group of militants was taking shelter at a thickly forested area, security forces led an operation in which four PULF rebels were gunned down," a police official told IANS, requesting anonymity.

The official said the militants opened fire on the security team and the rebels were killed in retaliatory fire. Two automatic rifles, several hand grenades and some grenades were found from the scene.

The PULF is a rebel group formed by radical Islamists in Manipur in 1993 to fight for the cause of Muslims in the state. There are about 200,000 Muslims in Manipur, a state of 2.3 million people.

More than 19 militant groups are active in Manipur, which borders Myanmar, with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.

Security officials say a number of militant groups have bases in Myanmar with Manipur sharing an unfenced border with the country ruled by the military regime.

More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Manipur during the past two decades. (dpa)