SRINAGAR: Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir say suspected militants shot dead a police officer and wounded two of his colleagues on Monday outside the main city of Srinagar.

Unknown gunmen opened fire on the officer who was patrolling a market in Chadoora, 25 kilometres from Srinagar, in an attack that also injured a shopkeeper, the police official said.

The “officer died in the attack. We are ascertaining what exactly happened”, inspector general of police, Abdul Gani Mir, told news agency AFP, adding that the injured were taken to hospital.

Intelligence reports suggested militants were planning to step up attacks on police officers in the restive Himalayan territory, Indian police recently said.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a de facto border known as the Line of Control but it is claimed in full by both countries.

More than a dozen armed groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for the region's independence or its merger with Pakistan.