JAMMU, Nov 20: India pulled out around 3,000 troops from Kashmir on Saturday in a planned withdrawal of army units from the region, officials said, as the peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad came under strain this week.

Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a move to give momentum to the India-Pakistan peace process, announced New Delhi would withdraw troops in Kashmir.

He cited a sharp drop in separatist guerilla attacks in the Himalayan territory as the reason for the reduction.

"Around 3,000 troops of three different army units involved in counter-terrorism operations have been de-inducted from the border district of Rajouri on Saturday," a defence official told Reuters.