SRINAGAR, July 31: Six people, including a top Indian army officer, were killed in a gun battle between troops and militants trying to sneak into Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani side on Tuesday, said an army spokesman.The Indian colonel was the most senior officer to be killed this year in the region, which has seen a spurt in separatist violence with the onset of summer.

“A fierce encounter broke out after the army challenged a group of infiltrators this morning in the Uri sector,” said Lieutenant-Colonel A.K. Mathur. “A colonel and a soldier lost their lives.”

Colonel Mathur said four militants were also killed in the clash which was still continuing in the Uri area, about 100km (60 miles) west of Srinagar.

Militants continue to sneak across the frontline despite a fence along the Line of Control which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Colonel Mathur said this was the second major infiltration attempt by militants in the last two weeks.—Reuters