Police say suspected militants have shot and killed three men in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Police said on Tuesday a group of three suspected insurgents overnight fired at three local men at a close range in the main town of Baramulla.

The three died instantly.

No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the deaths of the men.

Police officer Imtiyaz Husain says they were investigating the motive behind the killings but blamed the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the shootings.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.

Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Indian-controlled Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.