Indian security forces shot dead five members of the Hizbul Mujahiddin fighting to merge Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) with Pakistan, police said on Wednesday. “The militants were killed in two gunbattles with police and soldiers in [the] Doda and Reasi districts,” a police spokesman said. The fighting erupted late on Tuesday and carried on until early on Wednesday, when troops raided two militant hideouts, the police spokesman said.All five dead militants belonged to the group, which wants the IHK to become part of Pakistan and is the leading rebel group battling Indian rule in Kashmir, police said. The group has suffered serious setbacks in the past few months, with police arresting its chief spokesman last week and killing several of its top-ranking commanders.