A fierce gunbattle between security forces and separatist militants continues to rage Sunday in the dense mountainous forest in frontier Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir after over 60 hours in which seven people - four militants and three security personnel - have been killed.

The army laid siege to the Pati Tar mountainous forest near Mendhar in Poonch Thursday following a tip off about the presence of a group of hardcore militants in hideouts there. Some top commanders of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfits are reported to be present in the hideouts.