Police said the militants had occupied the house in Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar possibly to launch attacks on the polling station or on the nearby housing quarters of election officers.

Some 400 civil servants from the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab were staying at the site. The officers and other residents of the area were evacuated late Monday.

The polling station, some 300 metres (yards) from the house, was moved away.

In an initial exchange of fire late Monday an Indian policeman was killed and three more went missing after a raid on the house, in Indian Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar.

The policemen were rescued from the house at daybreak, allowing paramilitary units and counter-insurgency police to launch a fresh assault.

One of the militants went on to the roof of the house, where he was shot dead.

With the house burning, the militant or militants inside continued firing at the security forces, who retaliated with small arms fire and rockets, witnesses said.

The firing ended Tuesday morning and police were planning to search the house, where they expect to find the body of at least one more militant, a spokesman for India's Border Security Force (BSF) said.

The pro-Pakistani rebel group Jamiat ul-Mujahedin said four of its fighters were involved in the shootout.

Jamiat spokesman Jameel Ahmed told Nampa-AFP by telephone that three of the militants had escaped from the house, "while we have no information on the fourth."

The BSF, meanwhile, said two of its troops were injured when they stepped on an explosive that had been planted by the rebels.

Security forces also planted explosives in the house after militants ignored repeated warnings to surrender.

The police chief for the Kashmir Valley, K. Rajindera Kumar, camped out in the area throughout the night to help supervise the operation.

The firefight took place as polling stations opened in Srinagar for the second round of voting to the state assembly.

Rebels mounted eight different grenade and mine attacks Monday ahead of the polls, killing a solider and injuring 39 people.

Militants have threatened to attack anyone participating in the election, which is being boycotted by separatists. The first round of the vote for the state assembly was held September 16 with the last phase due October 8.

More than 480 people have died since India on August 2 announced the dates of the elections. Thirty-three of the dead were activists from parties contesting the vote.

str-sct/bp Nampa-AFP WEB story ENDS (NAMPA 240828)

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