Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir

The army has moved in reinforcements

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say four Indian soldiers have been killed and another six wounded in a gun battle with separatists in the frontier district of Kupwara.

The police say the clash occurred as militants from the Al-Badar group attacked an army patrol on Tuesday afternoon.

However, a spokesman for Al-Badar says the fighting broke out as Indian troops raided a hideout of the militants in violation of the government's unilateral ceasefire.

Indian troops search civilians

The army has rushed in reinforcements and troops have cordoned off a large area and are searching for the militants.

One officer is among the injured; the militants are not known to have suffered any casualties.

In another incident, militants shot dead a police officer at Magam in the central district of Budgam. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Explosion

The latest violence follows the death on Monday of at least six people in a bomb explosion near an army headquarters in the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, Srinagar.

The dead included civilians and at least one soldier, and a man said by the authorities to have been a suicide bomber.

Two different Kashmiri separatist groups claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the third time in just over a year that the army headquarters was been targeted.