According to Indian media, the fighting began in Kupwara area on the Indian side of the disputed Line of Control (LoC) on September 23, when militants tried to cross over from Pakistan into India in one of several recent infiltration attempts.
"This is not a pure infiltration attempt. These could be 20-30 in number and may include (the Pakistan army's) BAT," senior commander Gurmit Singh told reporters in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir.
India has blamed Pakistan's Border Action Teams (BATs) for several sneak attacks in the past, including one in February in which five Indian soldiers were killed.
Singh denied reports that the infiltrators had overtaken a village.
"There is no question of our territory being taken over. We have laid an effective cordon and the operation is on," he said.
Police sources said that the fighting was taking place in Shala Bhatta, an abandoned village near the Line of Control.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on Sunday for the first time since Sharif swept to power in May promising an improvement in relations.
They agreed to task senior military officers to "find effective means to restore the ceasefire" in Kashmir, where regular clashes between the two armies have taken place this year, resulting in casualties on both sides.(AFP)
