Suspected Rebels Kill Soldier, Police Officer in Indian Kashmir

An army colonel and a police officer were killed Tuesday in a gunbattle with suspected militants in Indian Kashmir, police said.

Two suspected rebels were also killed during the encounter in Hundoora village, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the region's main city of Srinagar, an officer said.

Government forces had laid siege to a house in the village, acting on information that a militant was inside, the officer said.

"He (the militant) opened fire as he found himself trapped. During the ensuing gunbattle 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.

A police officer wounded during the firing died in hospital, he said.

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

Kashmir has been 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 deep-rooted.

On January 15, government forces killed five suspected rebels during a gunbattle 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.