Indian troops shot dead four militants in Kashmir and arrested five others allegedly involved in making and setting off car bombs in the main city of Srinagar, the army said yesterday. The four were killed during two separate gunbattles in northern Kupwara district and southern Poonch district early Monday, said army spokesman Colonel Hemant Juneja. He said the fighting erupted when troops ringed two hideouts in the forest areas of the two districts bordering Pakistani Kashmir. Meanwhile, the army and police in a joint operation arrested five members of the dominant rebel group Hizbul Mujahedin in Srinagar. "The five were involved in preparing and detonating car bombs in Srinagar," an army statement said. This month there have been two car bomb explosions in Srinagar that injured over a dozen Indian soldiers and a few civilians. Hizbul claimed both attacks. "The busting of the module is a big success for the security forces and a blow to the militants," the statement said, adding the rebels were detained while they were actually planting a bomb inside a stolen car.