The army Saturday rescued 60 civilians, including 40 women, from a Muslim shrine in India-controlled Kashmir and killed two of the armed militants who had taken them hostage.

The hostages were held at a mosque in Litter village of Pulwamadistrict.

A soldier was injured in the gun battle that preceded the rescue operation, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

The incident took place as the security forces cordoned off three villages -- Sugen, Malnar and Hapatkhud in the district following the recovery Friday of the body of a railway engineer, held hostage for three days.

The engineer was working on a railway project linking Kashmir with the rest of the country by 2005.

The army said that intermittent firing was heard till late evening between the militants and the security forces.

The militants had come out of the mosque and taken shelter in anearby house, where two or three armed insurgents were holed up.

Source: Xinhua