Four killed in fresh Kashmir clashes

Fresh clashes in the volatile Kashmir region have resulted in the death of an Indian soldier and three militants, Indian police say.

The three separate clashes in the northern districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora have also wounded six soldiers, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.

Two of the gun battles that had started overnight were still raging in the area, he added.

India has been engaged in an armed battle with the rebels who since 1989 have resisted the country's rule over the area. The conflict has left more that 47,000 dead.

Violence in the region has generally declined since India and Pakistan embarked on a peace process in 2004. Ever since their partition in 1947, both Pakistan and India have laid claim on the entire Himalayan region, resulting in two wars between the two countries.

Talks were suspended in the wake of last November's militant attacks on India's financial capital Mumbai in which 166 people died.