Indian soldiers kill suspected rebels, civilians in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India - Indian soldiers killed 11 suspected Muslim rebels and five unarmed Bangladeshis trying to sneak into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir on Friday, police said. Two Indian soldiers were killed.

Indian and Pakistani troops also pounded each other with artillery along the Line of Control, the cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. No casualties were reported.

Indian and Pakistani troops routinely shell each other, but there has been a comparative lull since April, when leaders of the two countries renewed efforts to resume talks on Kashmir after two years of bitter relations.

In the gunbattles, Indian soldiers shot and killed five suspected rebels trying to cross into India's side of the Line of Control, about 75 miles north of Srinagar city, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Nearby, soldiers killed three rebels in the Trehgam region, police said. Three suspected rebels were killed in the Kashmir Valley about 60 miles north of Srinagar, summer capital of the state.

Indian security forces also shot to death five people, described as Bangladeshi civilians, crossing the border at Kanachak, 18 miles west of Jammu city, police said. Jammu is Kashmir's winter capital.

Bangladeshis often try to enter India illegally through Pakistan to find jobs. No weapons were found on the men's bodies, police said.

The South Asian nuclear rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a Himalayan region both claim in its entirety.

India accuses Pakistan of training and arming Islamic guerrillas, who cross into the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir and attack civilian and government targets. Pakistan says it supports the militants' cause of uniting Kashmir with Pakistan, but denies it aids them.

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