Suspected Rebels Kill Soldier, Two Police Officers in Indian Kashmir

Suspected militants in Indian Kashmir on Tuesday killed an army colonel and a police officer during a gun battle outside the restive region's main city of Srinagar, police said.

Another police officer later died of injuries sustained in the firefight, while two suspected rebels were also killed during the encounter, an officer said.

Government forces had laid siege to a house in Hundoora village, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Srinagar, acting on information that a militant was inside, the officer said.

"He (the militant) opened fire as he found himself trapped. During the ensuing gun battle two terrorists and an army colonel were killed," the top police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

The battle occurred shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama left India after a three-day visit to New Delhi. Security had been high in Kashmir and India's other restive areas during the visit, and for Republic Day on Monday which marks the birth of modern India.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan since the two countries won independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the scenic Himalayan territory in full.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.

Violence has abated during the last decade but armed encounters between rebels and government forces occur regularly and resentment among the people of Kashmir against Indian rule is deeply rooted.

On January 15, government forces killed five suspected rebels during a gun battle in a forested area a few kilometers from the site of Tuesday's encounter.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training rebels, but Islamabad denies the allegations.