A fierce gunbattle between government forces and militants holed up in icy Himalayan caves for nine days in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) has ended after about a dozen militants escaped, the army said on Friday.They said soldiers had begun mop up operations in the rugged mountains of Poonch near the Line of Control. The gunbattle, the longest in the recent years in the disputed region, began on December 31 after a security patrol was fired upon. "The operations concluded in the afternoon of January 8," army spokesman Colonel DK Kachari said in a statement. "Possibility of terrorists having slipped out taking advantage of the rugged terrain and prevailing climatic conditions cannot be ruled out." The army had said three soldiers and four militants were killed in the clash. Overall violence has fallen significantly across Kashmir since India and Pakistan began peace talks in 2004. But New Delhi paused that dialogue after the Mumbai terror attacks in November, which it blames on Pakistan-based terrorists.