Just another day in Kashmir...

Three gunmen then entered the house and attacked Ms Kauser's parents, while four other militants remained outside.

"My parents told me to hide under the bed and then opened the door," Ms Kauser told the BBC.

"Without saying anything they [the militants] started beating my parents and my uncle. They beat them so badly that my parents fell on the ground. I could not see that and pounced on one of the militants while my brother hit him with an axe," she said.

"I thought I should try the bold act of encountering militants before dying."

Ms Kauser said she grabbed one of the militants by the hair and banged his head against the wall. When he fell down she hit him with an axe, before snatching his rifle.

"I fired endlessly. The militant commander got 12 shots on his body."

Her brother, Eijaz, 19, grabbed one of the other militants' guns and also began shooting.

Ms Kauser said the exchanges of gunfire with the militants had gone on for four hours.

"I had never touched a rifle before this, let alone fired one. But I had seen heroes firing in films on TV and I tried the same way. Somehow I gathered courage - I fired and fought till dead tired."