Militants have stormed a police station and an army base in Indian Kashmir, killing ten in an attack the state's chief minister said was aimed at derailing peace talks between India and Pakistan.
Three militants wearing army fatigues lobbed grenades and opened fire early on Thursday at the Hiranagar police station near the Pakistan border, about 200km from the main Kashmiri city of Srinagar.
They then hijacked a truck and drove to a nearby army base, where a fierce gunbattle with soldiers took place and Indian tanks were deployed.
The day-long gunbattle ended with all three militants killed inside the base, director general of police Ashok Prasad told AFP.
"Four policemen and two civilians were killed by the militants in the attack on the police station," Prasad said.
A senior army officer, who did not want to be named, said four soldiers, including an officer, were then killed in the gunbattle inside the army base.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the militants carried out the latest attacks after crossing the border on Thursday morning, in a reference to Pakistan.
The attacks are set to overshadow a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this weekend, the first top-level dialogue in three years.
"This attack in Jammu is aimed at derailing the dialogue process," said Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state.
Premier Singh condemned "the heinous terrorist attack" in a statement, but pledged that it "will not deter us" as he seeks to resolve problems with Pakistan through dialogue.
Militant attacks have a history of stalling stop-start peace efforts by the two neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence.
Local English-language newspaper The Kashmir Monitor said it had received a call by satellite phone from a previously unknown group called Shouhda Brigade ("Martyrs Brigade") which claimed responsibility.
