14 Islamic militants shot dead by Indian troops

INDIAN troops have shot dead 14 Islamic militants in clashes across Indian-administered Kashmir while suspected rebels killed four civilians, officials said.

The death toll is the highest since the foreign ministers of nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan met for the first time in three years and pledged to take forward the fragile peace process.

The two countries have fought two of their three wars over the control of the region, which both hold in part but claim in full.