Shelling and small-arms fire killed an army officer and wounded three civilians along the Kashmir border ahead of a visit today by the US defence secretary aimed at defusing tensions between India and Pakistan, an Indian army spokesman said.

Hopes for peace were signalled alongside threats of war by both India and Pakistan, as the nuclear-armed neighbours exchanged deadly shelling in the disputed region of Kashmir, killing at least six people.

The Indian army today said it had killed five Pakistani members of an Islamic militant group.