India kills five militants in Kashmir: army spokesman

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - The Indian Army killed five militants on Monday who were trying to enter from Pakistan across a disputed Kashmir frontier, an Indian defense official said.

India and Pakistan have been in a confrontation for decades across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border separating parts of Kashmir held by both countries.

"Five terrorists were killed today by the army in the Machil sector of the LoC, where a major infiltration attempt by terrorists has been foiled," Colonel Rajesh Kalia, a Defence Ministry spokesman, told Reuters.

Kalia said weapons had been recovered from the killed militants and that the army's operations were continuing. He gave no other details.

India often accuses Pakistan of infiltrating militants across the LoC to carry out attacks, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Earlier, police in Srinagar said that they shot dead a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba militant in a clash in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir.

Unrest has simmered in Kashmir since a popular militant leader was killed just over a year ago, sparking unrest in which more than 90 civilians have died.