Militants and soldier die in Kashmir clashes

Six Islamic militants and an Indian soldier were killed in three separate clashes in Kashmir today, said police, who claimed that two of the dead guerrillas had crossed from Pakistani territory.

Paramilitary forces shot and killed four insurgents in a raid on their hide-out in Mahore, a forested village 80 miles north of Jammu, the state’s winter capital, a police officer said.

A Border Security Force soldier was killed and another was wounded when guerrillas, perched on a hillock, triggered an explosive device as the Indian patrol reached the Mahore area, the officer said. An ensuing gun battle lasted several hours.

Elsewhere, government soldiers killed two militants in Sunderbani area close to the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the officer said.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of training and arming Islamic militants who have fought for Kashmir’s separation from India since 1989. More than 61,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Pakistan says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to the insurgents whom it describes as "freedom fighters".