SRINAGAR: An official said suspected militants had ambushed and fatally shot three Indian army soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Lt. Col. Ankur Vashist, an army spokesman, said the soldiers were on their way to search Buchoo village on Friday following intelligence that some Kashmiri militants were hiding there.

The attack took place 40 kilometres south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Militant groups have been fighting for independence from India or merger with Pakistan since 1989.

More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the fighting since 1989.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the insurgents, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and the two have fought two wars over its control.