Indian army soldiers patrol near the site of a gunbattle with suspected rebels in Bungham village, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

The Indian army killed three suspected rebels and another person was shot dead during a six-hour gun battle Wednesday at a military camp in Indian Kashmir near the border with Pakistan, a military spokesman said.

Heavily armed fighters stormed the army base in Tangdhar, 140 kilometres (87 miles) northwest of the main city of Srinagar, setting off grenades and firing automatic weapons.

“Three terrorists were killed in the exchange of stand-off fire that began in the morning hours. One soldier was wounded in the firefight,” defence spokesman in Srinagar N.N. Joshi told AFP.

A civilian who worked on the base was also killed in the firing, Joshi said, adding that the attack finished six hours after the militants infiltrated the base.

Several rebel groups have for decades been fighting Indian forces deployed in the region, seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians.

India often accuses Pakistan of arming, training and sending rebels across the heavily militarised border into Indian-administered Kashmir.

Islamabad denies the charge, saying it provides only political support for their struggle for self-determination.

In July, three gunmen stormed a police station in neighbouring Punjab state, close to the border with Pakistan, and killed seven people.

The Indian government said the attackers crossed the border from Pakistan before launching their assault that led to a gun battle that lasted nearly 11 hours.

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