Indian soldiers kill nine suspected Kashmir militants

Indian soldiers have killed nine suspected Islamic militants in three separate attacks in the disputed Himalayan province of Kashmir, which cradles the India-Pakistan border.

Six rebels were killed in the first attack at Kupwara, north of the provincial capital, Srinigar.

Three more were killed in another two attacks.

India has sent tens of thousands of soldiers to Kashmir in the weeks since Kashmir militants killed 14 people in an attack on the parliament building in New Delhi on December 13th.

Around a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting for independence in Kashmir for 12 years.

The mainly Muslim province is ruled by Hindu-dominated India.