Srinagar, Oct 3 (IANS) Thirteen guerrillas and a soldier were killed in a nine-day long gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir that ended Friday - one of the longest gunbattles since militancy broke out in the state in 1989. “A group of heavily armed terrorists was spotted moving from north Kashmir’s Bandipora district towards the Kangan Valley in Ganderbal district Sep 25,” Major General V.S.S. Goudar, general officer commanding (GOC) of the army’s elite counter-insurgency Kilo Force, told a media conference here.

“Troops of 10 Para regiment, and 14th, 5th and 24th Rashtriya Rifles were moved on foot and by air and contact was established with the terrorists Sep 25.”

Maj Gen Goudar said the gunfight between the troops and the guerrillas occurred at an altitude ranging up to 15,000 feet.

“The gunfight occurred in the Harmukh mountain range where snowfall occurs almost on a daily basis. Thirteen terrorists have been killed in the gunfight and their identity will be established after the mopping up operation in the area comes to an end.

“Eleven AK-47/56 rifles, 27 magazines, 287 rounds of ammunition and two satellite phones have been recovered from the possession of the slain terrorists,” the GOC said.

One soldier of the army was also killed in the gunfight between the security forces and the guerrillas - one of the longest since armed violence started here in 1989.