India blames Pakistan as Kashmir attack kills 17 soldiers

India has accused Pakistan of being behind a separatist attack on an army base near their disputed frontier on Sunday that killed 17 soldiers, in one of the most deadly attacks in Kashmir in a quarter-century-old insurgency.

Four gunmen, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenade launchers, burst into the brigade headquarters in Uri at 5:30am local time and were killed after a three-hour gunfight, a senior Indian army officer said.

The incident sharply increased tensions between the bitter, nuclear-armed rivals and will raise fears of a potential military escalation. Indian and Pakistani troops are in close proximity in many places along one of the world’s most heavily militarised frontiers, and exchanges of fire are not uncommon.

Lieut Gen Ranbir Singh told reporters in New Delhi that Sunday's attack bore the hallmarks of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Evidence gathered at the scene indicated the attackers were foreign and their equipment bore Pakistani markings, he added.

“Our men are ready to give a befitting response,” Singh said in response to a reporter’s question. He did not elaborate.

Pakistan denied any involvement.

Muscular approach

Earlier, Indian prime minister

Narendra Modi

, who in recent weeks has signalled a more muscular approach in his country’s rivalry with Pakistan, strongly condemned what he called the “cowardly terror attack”.

“I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,” Modi said in a series of Twitter posts.

The raid came as tensions were already running high in India’s only Muslim-majority region, which has faced more than two months of protests after the July 8th killing of a commander of another Pakistan-based separatist group.

At least 78 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in street clashes with Indian security forces, who have been criticised by human rights groups for using excessive force.

In an even stronger response, Indian home affairs minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "Pakistan is a terrorist state and should be identified and isolated as such."

Pakistan rejected allegations that it was involved. “India immediately puts blame on Pakistan without doing any investigation. We reject this,” foreign ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria told Reuters.

String of attacks

India has blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for a string of attacks on its territory – including an assault on

Mumbai

in 2008 that killed 166 people.

The two countries have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between them along a de facto border known as the “Line of Control”. Both claim the former princely state in full.

The US state department "strongly condemned" the Uri attack, which comes weeks after US secretary of state John Kerry visited New Delhi.

After that meeting Kerry urged Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism, while also announcing the resumption of trilateral talks with India and Afghanistan this month in New York, leaving Islamabad looking isolated. – (Reuters)