JAMMU - A TOP field commander from the Muslim militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks was killed on Friday in a shootout with Indian security forces in Kashmir, an Indian military spokesman said.

The senior militant, identified only as Mudassir, was killed along with two other gunmen from the Lashkar-e-Taiba rebel group fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir, the spokesman said.

India says it has firm evidence - backed by US intelligence - that the militants who attacked Mumbai last month were trained by the Pakistan-based Lashkar outfit.

Friday's shootout occurred in the southern Kashmiri district of Doda.

'The security forces had cordoned off an area on a tip off. The militants were asked to surrender, but refused and a fierce gunfight erupted,' the spokesman said.

Another alleged top Lashkar operative was killed in Doda on Thursday. -- AFP