3 die in Indian Kashmir gunbattle as troops end 4-day hotel siege, police say

Two suspected Islamic rebels and one soldier died as scores of government troops ended a four-day hotel siege in Indian Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.

Two paramilitary soldiers and two policemen were also wounded in the fighting in Sopore, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, said B. Srinivasan, a senior police official.

One rebel fighter was killed Saturday night while the paramilitary soldier and another rebel died in the fighting Sunday before the standoff ended, Srinivasan said.

The siege _ punctuated by sporadic automatic gunfire and grenade blasts _ began when suspected …