Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in the Sunderbani sector of Jammu and Kashmir just after 6 pm on Monday.

The Pakistani Army resorted to indiscriminate firing at Indian Army posts using small arms, automatics and mortars.

The Indian Army retaliated to the firing from across the border.

Firing between both sides is currently underway.</s>Four suspected rebels, two Indian army soldiers and one civilian were killed in a gun battle in a village in India-administered Kashmir on Sunday, an army spokesman said.

The suspected rebels were hiding in a south Kashmir village when the army and police surrounded it, a police official said.

In the ensuing fire fight four suspected fighters and two soldiers were killed.

"Four terrorists were killed and four weapons were recovered from the encounter site," army spokesman in Srinagar, Colonel Manish told AFP news agency.

"Two soldiers were also martyred and three injured during the encounter," he added.

The operation was ongoing, Colonel Manish said.

WATCH: Is self-determination on the cards for Kashmiris?

A civilian, the young son of the owner of the house in which the suspected rebels were hiding, was also killed, Jammu and Kashmir police chief S P Vaid told AFP news agency.

Three men managed to escape, a superintendent of police, who declined to be identified, told AFP.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they won independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.

Several rebel groups have for decades fought the 500,000 Indian troops deployed in the region, demanding independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.</s>Four suspected rebels and two Indian army soldiers have been killed in a fierce gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Sunday.

Fighting began after police and soldiers cordoned off southern Frisal village overnight following a tip that militants were hiding in a civilian house, said police Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani.

He said that militants sprayed automatic gunfire to break the cordon, leading to an exchange of gunfire with police and soldiers that killed four militants and two soldiers.

The Indian army said three soldiers were injured. According to residents, government forces blasted the house with explosives.

As the fighting raged, clashes erupted between security forces and neighboring villagers who tried to march to Frisal in solidarity with militants. Troops fired tear gas canisters to stop the rock-throwing protesters.

Militants fighting against Indian rule have wide support among Kashmir's Muslims, who often protest in the streets during security operations to help militants escape.

Kashmir is divided between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan. Both counties claim the disputed territory in its entirety.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and Indian military crackdown.</s>Officials say four suspected rebels and two Indian army soldiers have been killed in a fierce gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Police Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani says fighting began early Saturday after police and soldiers cordoned off southern Frisal village following a tip that militants were hiding in a civilian house.

The Indian army said three soldiers were also injured in the fighting.

Kashmir is divided between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan. Both counties claim the disputed territory in its entirety.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and Indian military crackdown.</s>Siege at hamlet in Kulgam area as SOG got tipoff — false ceiling gave cover to terrorists; shooting erupted as they got discovered.

Army personnel move toward the house where militants were hiding during an encounter at Frisal area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: Four militants, two Army jawans and a civilian were killed in a fierce gunfight in a remote village in J&K’s southern Kulgam district on Sunday. An Army major and three of his men were also injured in the clash. They were airlifted to Srinagar and admitted to the 92 Base Hospital at 15 Corps headquarters at the Badami Bagh cantonment. Army sources said the injured major’s condition was “very critical”, while the other soldiers were “stable”.

Soon after the encounter, intense clashes erupted between the security forces and local residents, that left one more person dead and scores others injured in firing. Doctors attending on the injured said several others had been targeted in head, chest or other upper parts of the body “obviously with the intent to kill”.

Both the Army and the J&K police termed the killing of militants a “major breakthrough” against Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Hizb-ul-Mujahedin. Reports said two Lashkar and two Hizb men had been killed.

Police officials in Srinagar said that members of its counter-insurgency Special Operations Group, along with troops from the Army’s 1 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF’s 18 Battalion laid siege to Nagabal hamlet of Kulgam’s Frisal area at 4.30 am after a tipoff about the presence of militants.

A report said after laying a cordon around the village, the troops started a house-to-house search but did not find any militant. The SOG men, however, insisted the “source” who alerted them about the presence of the militants in the village could not be wrong, so on their insistence, a particular house was searched again, where the security forces found a false ceiling in which the militants were hiding. The moment they were spotted the militants fired a heavy barrage of gunfire, killing and injuring the soldiers, who were accompanied by the house-owner and his son.

A police statement said three militants managed to escape. “Consequently, the hiding militants opened fire on the joint search party. In the initial firing, two soldiers of 1st Rashtriya Rifles attained martyrdom and a civilian Ishfaq Majeed Reshi was also killed. Further, two more security forces personnel received grievous injuries”, the statement said.

The two soldiers who lost their lives were identified as Lance Naiks Raghubeer Singh and Bhandoriya Gopal Singh. Locals alleged while Reshi (the house-owner’s son) and his father were used as “human shields” by the security forces while searching the area for militants, the other civilian killed in the subsequent clashes fell victim to “target killing”. The authorities strongly refuted the charge. The police statement said one person was killed and some others were injured in “a law and order situation” after the encounter and the incidents were being investigated.

The slain militants are Mudassir Ahmed Tantrey alias Asim, Wakeel Ahmed Thokar, Farooq Ahmed Bhat and Muhammad Younis Lone — all from south Kashmir. The police confirmed two of the slain men, Bhat and Lone, were with the Hizb, and two others, Tantrey and Thokar, were linked to Lashkar. It said two AK rifles, one Insas riffle with ammunition and two pistols were found at the encounter site. “These slain militants were involved in several incidents of militancy, including the killing of policemen,” the statement said. The Hizb’s “operational” spokesman, Burhanuddin, however, claimed while speaking to a local news agency that all four militants belonged to the outfit. He also claimed that before “achieving martyrdom”, they inflicted heavy casualties on the security forces.

J&K’s director-general of police S.P. Vaid termed the killing of the militants a “major success” against the militants, and those of the two Army jawans and the civilian (house-owner’s son) as “unfortunate”.</s>Four militants and two Indian soldiers were among seven people killed in a gun battle in Kashmir Sunday, a police spokesman said. It is the latest sign of increasing tension in the Himalayan region disputed by nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan.

Militants opened fire on army troops in the village of Prisal south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir, S.P. Pani, the deputy inspector general of police, told Reuters.

“Two army men, four militants, and a civilian, the house owner, were killed in the gun battle,” Pani added, referring to the building where the militants had holed up.

Three soldiers were injured in the exchange of fire. The army seized four weapons from the site of the encounter in the village, which security forces had cordoned off, army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said.

India has blamed Pakistan for stoking violence in Kashmir by supplying fighters and material across the border, but Pakistan has denied these charges.

The violence peaked last year after Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old separatist leader who enjoyed widespread support in the Muslim-majority region, was shot dead by Indian security forces in July.

Last month, three road-building workers were killed after unidentified militants attacked a camp housing them, police said.</s>Alwaght- At least five people were killed in Kashmir on Sunday after Indian forces clashed with a group of armed people.

Two Indian armed forces were also killed during the clash that happened on a northern village, a police spokesman said.

Armed people opened fire on army troops in the village of Prisal south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's state of Jammu and Kashmir, the deputy inspector general of Indian police, told Reuters.

"Two army men, four militants, and a civilian, the house owner, were killed in the gun battle," Pani added, referring to the building where the militants had holed up.

The army seized four weapons from the site of the encounter in the village, which security forces had cordoned off, army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said.

The violence peaked last year after Burhan Wani, 22, who enjoyed widespread support in the Muslim-majority region, was shot dead by Indian security forces in July.

At least 94 people including two cops have been killed so far while over 14000 have sustained injuries. More than 750 people have sustained pellet injuries in their eyes with majority of them on the verge of losing eye-sight partially or fully.

After four decades of political struggles and fights was deemed ineffective, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front launched an armed struggle against India, which became the excuse for the Indian forces’ invasion of Kashmir. In 2008 when the state government decided to sell a plot of land to non-resident Hindus for building a shrine, the big and peaceful people's defiance was met with bloody repression.</s>At least two militants were killed in an encounter in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, reported ANI. A soldier was reportedly injured in the incident in Yaripora village. “Different unconfirmed figures on casualties of security forces & terrorists are doing the rounds. Operation in Kulgam is still on,” said the Army.

The incident took place when a joint team of local police and the Army were conducting a search operation on Saturday night upon receiving intelligence input. “The encounter started after militants hiding in a house opened fire,” the police control room in Kulgam said.</s>Four suspected militants and two Indian Army soldiers have been killed in a gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir, army officials have said.

The alleged militants were hiding in a south Kashmir village when the army and police surrounded it, a police official said on February 12.

In the ensuing fire fight, four militants and two soldiers were killed.

A civilian caught in the crossfire also died, officials said.

"Four terrorists were killed and four weapons were recovered from the encounter site," army spokesman in Srinagar, Colonel Manish Mehta said.

The Indian army said three soldiers were injured in the violence. Residents said government forces blasted the house with explosives.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in the uprising and Indian military crackdown.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP</s>Four employees of Jammu and Kashmir Bank were killed when their car hit a road divider and then rammed into a speeding bus coming from opposite direction at Barnoti in Kathua district on Monday.

The deceased were on way to Pathankot where they had been posted, while the bus was moving towards Jammu. The victims have been identified as Mohan Singh, AnilGupta, Rakesh Charak and Ajay Koul, all residents of Jammu.
Four suspected militants, two Indian Army soldiers, and one civilian are killed in clashes in a village in southern Jammu and Kashmir.