SRINAGAR: Two Indian policemen were shot dead Saturday by suspected militants in a high security area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.

The policemen were shot from point blank range when they were on a regular patrol near the main court complex located in a busy commercial district of Srinagar, a senior police official said.

“Both the policemen died at the spot. We don’t know as yet who carried out the attack,” city police chief Ashiq Bukhari told AFP.

The attack comes at a time when security is being stepped up in the region ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early next week.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan along the UN-monitored Line of Control (LoC), but both countries claim the region in full and have fought two of their three wars over it.

Rebels opposed to Indian rule of the territory have been mounting shoot-and-run attacks on security personnel at regular intervals in recent times.

In April, armed militants attacked a police patrol near the northern town of Sopore, killing four.