THREE Indian soldiers and two civilian porters have been killed in a rebel ambush in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said today.

Police said that rebels had sprayed bullets at the soldiers’ vehicle near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night.

Two soldiers and two civilians working as porters with the Indian military were killed and three other soldiers were wounded, police said. 

The attack took place close to the Line of Control, the highly militarised de facto frontier that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the disputed region in its entirety.

On Sunday, gunmen fatally shot at least seven people and injured five others who were working on a strategic tunnel project near Sonamarg, another resort town. Police blamed militants fighting to end Indian rule for the attack.

Armed groups in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists that the Kashmir militancy is terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. 

Islamabad denies the charge and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government security force personnel have been killed in the conflict.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.