SRINAGAR: An Indian military spokesman has claimed that two alleged militants from Pakistan and three Indian troops were killed on Wednesday in a gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The gunfight took place in Kashmir's Nowgam sector, 100 kilometres from the summer capital Srinagar, as the rebels tried to cross into the Indian administered side.

“An infiltration bid was foiled by troops on the Line of Control, killing two militants, but three soldiers were also killed,” Colonel A. Vashisht claimed, referring to the de facto border that divides the Himalayan region.

In another encounter late Tuesday, Indian police claimed to have shot dead a commander of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in a gunfight.

“A most wanted militant commander affiliated with LeT was killed by a joint search party of the police and army,” a police officer said.

Separatist violence in the region has dropped sharply since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004 but occasional gunfights erupt between militants and the security forces.

India accuses Pakistan of backing militants on its side of the divided region, a charge Islamabad denies.