17 killed in Kashmir

Nine of the rebels were killed during a fierce clash with Indian troops along the heavily militarised frontier between India and Pakistan in Kashmir in the northern Baramulla district early Saturday, Indian army spokesman Vijay Batra told AFP.

"The militants were challenged by the troops in the mountainous Gulmarg sector after being sighted. They were asked to surrender but they (militants) instead opened fire," Batra said.

"In the return fire nine of the militants were killed," he said, adding that reinforcements have been sent to the sector and sweeping searches launched to seek other militants. No soldiers were killed or injured.

Earlier Saturday four more militants were killed during an early morning clash in the Kupwara district near the heavily militarized ceasefire border between India and Pakistan.

"The four were killed during a clash when they entered our territory from across the Line of Control," Batra said, referring to the de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

He said four other militants were killed in the hinterland districts of Kupwara and Baramulla late Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Indian troops recovered the bodies of two more Islamic militants in the snowbound northern Gurez area of Indian-adminis-tered Kashmir, bringing the number of dead militants found in the area to nine since Tuesday.

Batra said Friday the dead rebels in Gurez were part of the largest infiltration into Kashmir since India and Pakistan began a slow-moving peace process to solve the Kashmir dispute 19 months ago.

Indian media reports, quoting army sources, say around 35 militants have crossed into the Gurez area via snow-covered passes as high as 4,850 metres (16,000 feet).

"The searches are on. We are seeking militants who might be hiding in the area," Batra said Saturday.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and funding Muslim rebels in Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge and says it is doing its best to prevent militants from entering the Indian side from its zone of the divided region.

More than 44,000 people have been killed in Indian Kashmir since 1989, according to official figures. Separatists say the toll is twice as high.