SRINAGAR: Indian troops shot dead four suspected militants after they crossed into Indian-administered Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the divided region, the army said Sunday.

The rebels were killed in the northern district of Kupwara, which borders the Line of Control -- the de facto border that splits Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

An army spokesman said gunmen opened fire on troops when ordered to surrender late on Saturday.

“In the retaliatory firing four militants were killed,” he said.

India says it regularly intercepts Islamist rebels crossing into Indian Kashmir to fight New Delhi's rule of the Himalayan territory. Pakistan denies all Indian allegations that it helps the insurgents.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which each country holds in part but claims in full.

The insurgency in Indian-held Kashmir has left more than 47,000 people dead since 1989, according to an official count.