SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD/MUZAFFARABAD: Indian soldiers shot dead five suspected rebels on Friday near the heavily militarized border in Kashmir as they tried to sneak in from the Pakistani side of the divided territory, an army spokesman said.

The group of armed men were intercepted by Indian soldiers when they crossed the Line of Control (LoC) early morning in Gurez, about 130 km north of the main city of Srinagar.

“Five terrorists were eliminated by the army while they were trying to infiltrate across the LoC in Gurez Sector,” Col. N. N. Joshi said.

“Soldiers... effectively foiled the infiltration bid,” he said.

Pakistan’s military meanwhile says “unprovoked” Indian gunfire has killed two civilians in Pakistan’s part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

The military says in a statement that a 13-year-old girl and a 55-year-old man were killed Thursday evening along the disputed line of control in Kashmir. It says Pakistani troops returned fire and the skirmish was ongoing.

Frontier clashes have intensified in recent months and the latest violence will put more strain on ties between the nuclear-armed rivals.

The two countries have fought three wars since independence, two over Kashmir, and relations chilled again after the election of the right-winger Narendra Modi as Indian prime minister last year.

Skirmishes between the border guards of Pakistan and India are common. The latest comes two days after Indian gunfire killed a Pakistani soldier in Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries but claimed by both it in its entirety.

Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training rebels to infiltrate what it sees as its territory. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.

The South Asian nuclear-armed rivals have exchanged heavy mortar firing across the LoC almost daily for weeks, with two civilians killed Thursday on the Pakistani side, according to a Pakistani military statement.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full and have fought two wars over its control.

Both regularly accuse each other of breaching a border ceasefire they agreed on in 2003 and the conflict has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians.

Nazakat Hussain, an administration official in Nakyal near the Line of Control, a cease-fire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said shelling started at around five p.m. and was still continuing.

“It is intense and has caused the death of a 12-year-old girl, a 19-year-old boy and a 50-year-old man after mortar shells landed on their homes,” Hussain said.

Officials said two people had been wounded and casualties could increase.

Last month India called off peace talks with Pakistan, giving a jolt to renewed diplomatic efforts between the neighbours and adding to the troubles of Pakistan’s government.

The move came barely three months after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the pair shaking hands in a gesture that had raised hopes of warmer ties.

India has for years complained that Pakistan backs separatist militants who slip in from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to stage attacks.

Pakistan says it only gives political support to the Muslim people of Kashmir, who it says face human rights abuses at the hands of Indian troops. India denies that.