SRINAGAR: Suspected rebels opened fire on the law minister in India-controlled Kashmir, killing one of his police guards and wounding three others, police said on Monday.

Law Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar ducked and crawled into his house to escape the attack Sunday night unharmed, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with media.

Sagar had been greeting guests arriving for his niece's engagement party at his home in Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir, when gunmen sprayed the area with bullets before fleeing the scene, police said in a statement.

One of Sagar's police guards was killed at the scene. Two other guards as well as Sagar's driver were being treated Monday for gunshot wounds in a Srinagar hospital.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Muslim militants have been fighting since 1989 against Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan territory. More than 68,000 people have died in the violence and subsequent Indian crackdowns.

Sunday's attack was unusually brazen for recent years after Indian forces largely suppressed insurgent strikes. Kashmiris now show resistance mostly in demonstrations.

Less than two weeks ago, however, suspected rebels in Srinagar shot and wounded a member of the state's governing National Conference, a pro-India party.