Militants raid Kashmiri village

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say suspected Islamic militants have killed at least 10 people in an overnight raid on a village.

Another 15 were reportedly wounded in the attack in the Surankot region, 210km (190 miles) north of Jammu.

The majority of those killed are said to be part of a local security force.

The killings came a day before talks between India and Pakistan about the disputed region - their first talks on the subject for three years.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The foreign ministers from India and Pakistan are due to meet in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Sunday to discuss the flashpoint region.

Low expectations

Analysts say expectations of a breakthrough on Kashmir are not high, with neither side willing to make large-scale compromises.

Security for the two nuclear-armed countries will also be high on the agenda at the talks, which will last into Monday.

Pakistan and India have already introduced a number of confidence-building measures over the past year, including a resumption of rail, air and bus links and a strengthening of diplomatic ties.

Movement on Kashmir may well depend on what future both nations see for the Line of Control.

The new Indian government recently defended the 1972 Simla agreement, under which the Line of Control was established.

Pakistan responded by saying that the Line of Control could not be made into a permanent border between the two countries.

The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir.

Tens of thousands of people have died in Kashmir since the late 1980s, when militants took up arms to try to drive the Indian army out of the region.