Suspected rebels shot at a pro-India politician’s house yesterday and killed two police guards in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Two of the raiders were killed in an ensuing firefight with Indian troops stationed nearby.

The attack was the first in Kashmir during Indian elections in an area scheduled to vote in two weeks’ time.

Yawar Masoodi was at home during the attack in Khrew village, south of Srinagar, but escaped unharmed.

Mr Masoodi is a local member of Kashmir’s pro-India National Conference Party, led by the region’s chief minister Omar Abdullah.