SRINAGAR, July 20: Two Indian soldiers and four suspected Muslim militants were killed in separate gunbattles while two other people died in a grenade attack in occupied Kashmir, the army said on Sunday.

The violence flared up across the Himalayan region ahead of a new round of Pakistan-India peace talks on Monday that are opposed by some Kashmiri groups.

An Indian army officer and a soldier died in a firefight with militants in Rajouri area, a day after nine Indian troops were killed in a landmine blast near Srinagar.

“The encounter broke out on Saturday and still continues,” Indian army spokesman Lt-Col S. D. Goswami said.

Separately, an Indian tourist and a local picnicker were killed and at least five others wounded on Sunday when suspected militants threw a grenade at a hill resort in Gulmarg, west of Srinagar, police said.

The valley of Gulmarg, ringed by pine forests and famous for its ski slopes and cable car, lies close to the Line of Control dividing Indian and Pakistani Kashmir.

Four suspected militants were shot dead by soldiers on Saturday when they allegedly tried to sneak into Kupwara sector of occupied Kashmir from across the LoC.—Reuters