Police kill 'wanted militant' in Kashmir

India says militants are still crossing into its territory

Police in Indian administered Kashmir say they have killed a militant who claimed responsibility for an attack which left 27 civilians dead, last month.

A police officer also died in a fierce gun battle on Friday.

Friday's clash started after police cordoned off the area near Raika forests in Jammu on Thursday, following an ambush by the rebels on a police search team in which two officers were killed.

Police say they have identified the dead militant as Abu Adnan, belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

According to Inspector General of Police PL Gupta, the militant made a dying declaration to the local police chief that he and another member of his group had carried out the July attack on slum dwellers in Qasimnagar, on the outskirts of Jammu.

Indian anger

On Thursday India reiterated charges that Pakistan was not doing enough to curb Islamic militancy .

The comment came soon after an overnight gun battle in near a high-security zone in Rajouri in Jammu, which left five people dead.

Violence is expected to go up during elections

India's Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani told parliament that the attack showed that rebels based in Pakistan were still crossing into Indian-administered Kashmir.

"It was a big conspiracy, but it was foiled", Mr Advani was quoted by the AFP news agency as telling the MPs

The Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has vowed to stop militant incursions and has called for dialogue over Kashmir, but Delhi says Islamabad is not fulfilling its pledge.

Continuing violence

The last major militant attack took place two weeks ago when suspected separatists, disguised as Hindu holy men, tossed grenades and sprayed automatic fire on a slum near Jammu.

At least 27 civilians, mostly workers and their family members, were killed.

India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said the attack had been carried out "with the inspiration of Pakistan" - an allegation Islamabad swiftly and angrily rejected.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell was the latest in a string of senior Western envoys who have visited India and Pakistan with a view to reducing tensions.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have between them deployed about a million troops along the border since a militant attack on the Indian parliament last December.

Correspondents say the diplomatic efforts do not appear to have made much of an impact on the violence on the ground.