New Delhi - A top commander of the Islamic militant Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) group was killed along with his aide by Indian security forces in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, news reports said.

Acting on a tip about the presence of militants, Indian security forces threw a tight cordon around the Dhar forest area in Doda district, about 140 kilometres south-east of the state capital Srinagar late Friday, the IANS news agency reported.

The militants were surrounded and the gunbattle began early Saturday, senior Doda district police official Hemant Lohia was quoted as saying.

"LET district commander Abu Samama and his bodyguard Barkat Ali were killed in the operation. While Samama was a Pakistani national, Ali was a local militant," Brigadier Gurdeep Singh said. He said Samama had been active in the area for over five years.

An Indian Army soldier was injured in the fighting. Police said they recovered a rifle, a handgun and some ammunition from the rebels.

The LET is a Pakistan-based militant outfit that claims to be fighting to liberate Kashmiri Muslims from Indian rule and to establish an Islamic state in South Asia.

Indian police and intelligence agencies have often held the LET responsible for terrorist attacks in India, including the November siege in financial hub Mumbai that left more than 170 people dead. (dpa)