The Indian army says it killed a top commander with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant group early Tuesday during a gunfight in Indian Kashmir.

Officials say Sajjad Ahmed was killed after soldiers shot back at militants who opened fire on them in a forested area of Kishtwar district.

However, locals expressed doubts about the identity of the slain man.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both. The violent insurgency in the Himalayan region is led by nearly a dozen Islamist militant groups, and has claimed thousands of lives.