Fierce gunbattles and a roadside bomb killed three Indian soldiers and two suspected Islamic insurgents early Monday in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Militants blew up a jeep and killed the deputy inspector-general of India's Border Security Force, O.P. Tanwar, and wounded two paramilitary soldiers, said a police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
The attack happened 20 miles (35 kilometers) south of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.
Tanwar was visiting the region close to India's border with archrival Pakistan hours after insurgents and paramilitary soldiers exchanged fire there overnight, the officer said.
Two Indian army solders were killed in a separate gunbattle with rebels, who allegedly infiltrated the Keran sector in the Indian portion of Kashmir from Pakistani territory, said Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, an army spokesman.
One rebel also was killed in the fighting in the rugged mountainous region, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Brar said.
Separately, Indian soldiers cordoned off a village and opened fire on guerrillas hiding in a house in the Pulwama region, killing a commander of Kashmir's biggest rebel group, Hizb-ul Mujahedeen, said police officer Sajad Ahmed.
More than a dozen militant groups have fought Indian forces since 1989 seeking independence for the Muslim-majority state, or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Islamic militants and unleashing them into Indian Kashmir to attack government forces and other targets _ a charge Islamabad denies.
India and Pakistan have fought two of three wars over control of Kashmir _ a territory claimed by both in its entirety _ since their independence from Britain in 1947.
