SRINAGAR, India — Three suspected rebels were killed in a gunbattle on Saturday after they entered the Indian part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side, an Indian army spokesman said. Soldiers intercepted the militants early Saturday in the border district of Kupwara, Lt. Col. Nitin N. Joshi said. The army did not suffer any casualties in the gunbattle, Joshi said. There was no independent confirmation of the fighting. Five militants, three soldiers and a civilian have died in two gunbattles in the same frontier area over the past two weeks. Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety. India accuses Pakistan of funding and training militants in the Pakistani-held portion of Kashmir and facilitating their entry into Indian-held Kashmir to fight government forces. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it gives only moral and diplomatic support to the rebels. — AP
