Four Indian soldiers and four suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle near the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, a senior police official said.
The militants attacked security forces carrying out a search operation in forests around Kupwara, 95 km (60 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, said Shamsher Hussain, senior superintendent of police in Kupwara.The gunbattle was continuing, he added. "Indian troops killed four armed militants. We also lost two army men and two police officials in the gunbattle," he said.
India accuses Pakistan of training and arming militants and helping them infiltrate across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir. Pakistan denies those allegations.
The South Asian neighbours have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
