Indian troops killed eight Muslim rebels trying to slip into Indian-controlled Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the region today.
The violence in the disputed Himalayan region has cast acloud over tentative peace steps between the nuclear-armedrivals who nearly went to war a fourth time last year over thedisputed Himalayan region.
An Indian police spokesman said police and soldiers shotdead four militants when they were trying to slip into IndianKashmir from Pakistan north of Srinagar, the region's maincity.
Four other rebels were killed after they crossed aceasefire line separating Indian and Pakistani forces southwestof Srinagar.
Meanwhile, one man was killed and seven others werewounded, two of them critically, when Indian forces fired intoPakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistani state-run media said.
"Pakistani troops returned the fire and silenced enemyguns," Pakistan Television quoted officials in PakistaniKashmir as saying.
Nearly a dozen Muslim separatist rebel groups have beenbattling security forces in Indian Kashmir since 1989.
India accuses Muslim Pakistan of supporting the rebels andgiving them sanctuary and says there is an annual surge ofrebels infiltrating Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani side tojoin the insurgency before winter snow blocks mountain passes.
Islamabad denies Indian charge and says it provides onlypolitical, moral and diplomatic support to, what it calls,"legitimate freedom struggle".
The police spokesman said six militants were killed inother clashes across the region late on Friday and on Saturday.
More than 200 militants have been killed in the past fourweeks, Indian security officials say.