Heavy gunfire heard as operation to flush out gunmen in Kashmir enters third day

Smoke billows from a building, in which authorities say suspected militants are holed up, during a gun battle on the outskirts of Srinagar February 21, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

SRINAGAR (Reuters) - Indian security forces battled for a third day amid heavy gunfire on Monday to clear militants who stormed a government building in the disputed Kashmir region and killed six people, officials and a witness said.

After a lull in fighting overnight, army commandos and police launched a fresh offensive to clear the five-storey training institute captured by the militants.