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India says kills 6 Pak soldiers in border raid

JAMMU: India's armed forces said on Saturday they had killed six Pakistani soldiers attempting to capture a post inside Indian territory in the disputed Kashmir region.

A defence official spokesman said two Indian soldiers were also killed in the fierce border battle near Pallanwala in the Akhnoor sector, 32 km (20 miles) from Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir province.

He added at least 10 Pakistan soldiers were killed in a subsequent attack on a Pakistani surveillance tower.

"They (Pakistani army regulars) made an attempt to capture our Nadiwala post in the Chhamb area in the wee hours of today. Our troops rebuffed the assault and killed six of them on the spot on our side," the spokesman said.

"The bodies (of the six) will be handed over to Pakistani authorities when the firing stops in the area," he said.

Pakistan's forces on its side of the border then launched heavy mortar fire and Indian troops retaliated, destroying the surveillance tower, the spokesman said.

India accuses Pakistan of encouraging militancy in the province by arming separatists and sending its troops and intelligence agents into Indian areas of Kashmir.

Pakistan denies the charge but acknowledges political support for separatists who launched a major rebellion 10 years ago in the state, mainly Hindu India's only Moslem majority province.

India and Pakistan sporadically exchange fire at the border or along the military line that divides the disputed parts of Kashmir.

The neighbours have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over Kashmir, which straddles parts of both countries and China.-Reuters