Sixteen people including nine security personnel were killed in a string of militant attacks across India's strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir, police said today.
Six police and a civilian were killed late yesterday when Muslim guerrillas attacked a police station in Poonch, 250 km (155 miles) north of Jammu, the winter capital.
The attack was the latest in a rising tide of violence in the insurgency-plagued Himalayan region since last month's fruitless summit between India and Pakistan.
The Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lashkar-e-Taiba suicide fighters have launched a series of attacks on Indian security forces across Kashmir in the last two years.
Earlier on Thursday, three soldiers were killed when militants attacked a security patrol at Sapwal on the outskirts of Jammu, police said.
No group has claimed responsibility. Four militants and two civilians were killed in other shootouts in the region, police said.
India blames Pakistan for backing the rebels who have been fighting New Delhi's rule for nearly 12 years. Pakistan says it only provides moral and diplomatic support.
Authorities say more than 30,000 people have been killed in the bloody rebellion. Separatists put the toll closer to 80,000.