Separatists ambushed an Indian army convoy in turbulent Kashmir today, and nine people were killed and 25 wounded in the ensuing gunbattle, police said.
The dead included five civilians, two militants and two security force personnel in the fighting in the Azad Gunj area of Baramulla district in northern Kashmir.
Many of the injured - 18 of them civilians - were in a serious condition, the police said.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility.
Police said the soldiers returned fired after they were ambushed.
The soldiers in the convoy retaliated. According to initial reports five civilians and a policeman were also killed in the shootout. More details are awaited, a security official said.
Separatist violence in Kashmir has increased since the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in November.
Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting New Delhi's rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state where authorities say more than 30,000 people have been killed in nearly 12 years of rebellion.
Separatists put the toll closer to 80,000.
India says despite joining the US-led campaign against terrorism, Pakistan has not stopped helping separatist guerrillas in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge.