Militants attack army in Kashmir

Indian soldiers are seen at their positions following an attack by militants at the Pindi Khattar belt of the Arnia border sector, some 45 kms from Jammu district, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Militants attacked an army patrol in Indian Kashmir yesterday, leaving three soldiers and three civilians dead as fighting continued near the border with rival Pakistan, security officials said.

The group of heavily armed militants attacked the army column near a base in the town of Arnia in Indian Kashmir, about four kilometres from the undisputed, internationally-recognised border with Pakistan.

"Three of our soldiers were martyred in the operation which is still ongoing," army spokesman for the area, Manish Mehta, told AFP, updating the toll from one, after two soldiers shot during the encounter died of their injuries.

Three civilians were killed in crossfire and three militants shot dead in the attack which started early in the morning, local deputy inspector general of police Shakeel Beig said.

The rebels, suspected to have crossed from Pakistan, entered an "abandoned bunker" which Indian forces then surrounded, triggering the gun battle.

The attack came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif shook hands but failed to hold a formal meeting at the just-ended summit in Kathmandu, in signs of growing mutual distrust.

Analysts say India has taken a more assertive stance against its neighbour since Modi's Hindu nationalist party stormed to power in May.

The attack comes a day before Modi is expected to address a campaign rally in the nearby town of Udhampur for ongoing elections in the Himalayan region. BJP is striving to win power in the Muslim-majority region for the first time.