Death Toll Rises To 19 In Kashmir Forest Battle

Four soldiers and five militants were killed on Monday alone, the army said.

At least 19 people have been killed after four days of gunfighting between Indian soldiers and Muslim militants in disputed Kashmir near the Pakistan border, the army said on Monday.

Four soldiers and five militants were killed on Monday alone, the army said, the highest number of people killed in a single firefight between Muslim militants and Indian troops in the Himalayan region in the past year.

The clash broke out on Friday after soldiers surrounded a group of heavily armed militants in Shamsbari forest near the Line of Control, a ceasefire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

"The exchange of fire continues," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel J. S. Brar said. "Eleven terrorists and eight soldiers, including an officer, have been killed so far."

India consistently accuses Pakistan of arming, training and sending militants to its part of Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies. Both claim the disputed Himalayan region in full but rule in parts.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since a revolt against Indian rule broke out in 1989.

Officials say violence involving Indian troops and separatist militants has declined in Kashmir since the two south Asian neighbours, who have fought two of their three wars over the region, began a slow-moving peace process in 2004.

New Delhi put a pause on that dialogue after last November's Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed.