Officials say at least five suspected militants have been killed in a gunbattle with government troops after they crossed into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the disputed territory.

The Indian military said fighting began early Monday when soldiers intercepted heavily armed insurgents along the highly militarized de facto border that divides the Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

There was no independent confirmation of the gunbattle, which occurred in the remote, mountainous and forested western Uri sector.

Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 and demanding that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the region, and most people support the rebels' cause.