TWO suspected militants have been killed in a gunfight with government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said today, while assailants killed two members of a government-sponsored militia elsewhere in the disputed region.

Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both, has experienced an increase in violence in recent weeks.

The Indian military said soldiers and police had raided a village near the north-western town of  Sopore on Thursday night following a tip-off that a group of militants was present.

The militants “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, leading to a gun battle in which two were killed, the military said in a statement.

Troops were continuing to search the area, it said. There was no independent confirmation of the incident.

Meanwhile, assailants killed two members of a government-run militia called the Village Defence Group in the remote southern area of Kishtwar late on Thursday, officials said. Police blamed rebels fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

The two victims were abducted from a forested area where they had gone to graze cattle.

India insists that the Kashmir insurgency is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government security personnel have been killed in the conflict.