Kashmir gunbattles kill seven

Indian Border Security Force soldiers stand guard. India says the number of militant incursions has decreased slightly, but not ended

SRINAGAR, India (CNN) -- Two separate gunbattles in Indian-controlled Kashmir have claimed the lives of seven people -- the most intense, a nine-hour firefight between Indian soldiers and rebels that left four suspected militants and an army captain dead.

That gunbattle broke out late Wednesday when an army patrol saw suspected militants near a high-security residential zone housing Indian officials in Rajouri, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Jammu -- Indian Kashmir's winter capital.

The militants fled, taking shelter in a house, when the shootout began, Indian army officials said.

The rebels hurled grenades, fired rockets and automatic weapons in the lengthy exchange, police said.

Commandos and troops were rushed to the spot and surrounded the house where the terrorists were holed up, the Times of India reported, while residents were evacuated.

The gunbattle ended early Thursday and the army is searching for any militants who may have escaped.

Top officials targeted

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Police say that the militants had planned to target top civil and police officials residing in the Deputy Commissioner Complex, the Times reported.

The identity of the suspected militants is yet to be established, the report added, adding that the four bodies were found among debris.

In a separate incident on Thursday, suspected militants gunned down two Indian police officers who were on patrol in the Raika Forest area of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

The incident occurred on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir and near the site of a massacre by militants last month of at least 27 Hindus.

Troops and police were searching for the perpetrators.

The disputed region of Kashmir, where a bloody separatist insurgency has raged for over a decade, has been at the core of a major military standoff between India and Pakistan that almost resulted in war earlier this year.

India blames Pakistan for stoking the revolt and aiding militants crossing the border to Indian soil.

Islamabad denies the charge, but has vowed to crack down on militant insurgency.

Rebel incursions

India has said that the number of rebel incursions has fallen but has not ended since the crackdown began. New Delhi insists that it will not resume high-level talks with Pakistan until what it calls "cross border terrorism" ceases.

The last major militant attack took place earlier this month when suspected separatists opened fire on slum dwellers near Jammu, killing at least 27 people.

Though India did not directly blame Pakistan for that attack, New Delhi implied that Islamabad was responsible in an indirect way because of its traditional support and aid for militants operating in Kashmir.

Islamabad was swift to deny the allegation and said it was disappointed by the "anti-Pakistani" remarks made in Indian parliament. (Full story)

Despite several Western envoys to the region, both sides are no closer to the negotiating table and there are no signs of any major reduction in tension between the nuclear neighbors.

Between them, Pakistan and India have deployed about one million troops on their shared border since a militant attack on parliament in New Delhi last December.