Gunbattles, bomb blast kill 5 in India's Kashmir

Fierce gunbattles and a roadside bomb killed three Indian soldiers and two suspected Islamic insurgents early Monday in the troubled Himalayan Kashmir region.

Militants blew up a jeep and killed the deputy inspector-general of India's Border Security Force, O.P. Tanwar, and wounding two paramilitary soldiers, said a police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The area of the attack is 20 miles (35 kilometers) south of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

Tanwar was visiting the region close to India's border with arch-rival Pakistan hours after insurgents and paramilitary soldiers exchanged fire there overnight, the officer said.

Two Indian army solders were killed in a separate gunbattle with rebels, who allegedly infiltrated the Keran sector in the Indian portion of Kashmir from Pakistani territory, said Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, an army spokesman. The rugged mountainous region is 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state.

Separately, Indian soldiers cordoned off a village and opened fire on guerrillas hiding in a house in Pulwama region, killing two of them, said police officer Sajad Ahmed.

More than a dozen militant groups have fought Indian forces since 1989 seeking independence for the Muslim-majority state, or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Islamic militants and unleashing them into Indian Kashmir to attack government forces and other targets _ a charge Islamabad denies.

India and Pakistan have fought two of three wars over control of Kashmir _ a territory claimed by both in its entirety _ since their independence from Britain in 1947.