Ten die in fresh Kashmir clashes

Upcoming elections threaten what little serenity there is left in Kashmir

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Ten people have been killed in weekend clashes in the Kashmir region as violence intensifies ahead of state elections in the troubled region.

In one incident, Indian army forces shot and killed four militants trying to cross into Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Army sources told CNN the incident happened in the Machil sector along the line of control that separates the disputed region between Indian and Pakistani control.

The army said the pattern of cross-border infiltration by Islamic militants has increased in recent weeks.

In southern Kashmir, Indian police blew up a house in Shopaiyan Sunday with mortars, killing one militant, police said.

Also in Kashmir, a late night gunbattle Saturday between Indian security forces and militants killed two militants and two civilians in the southern part of Anantnag district south of Srinagar, state police said.

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An Indian police officer in Srinagar was shot and killed by a suspected militant, according to police.

State elections scheduled for September and October have triggered fears of increased violence by Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Election boycott

Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference has said it would boycott elections, dealing a blow to New Delhi's efforts to bolster the legitimacy of its rule in the region.

Indian officials are making efforts, however, to get the separatist parties to change their minds and join in the election process.

The separatists however say the election is a farce without any concrete moves for independence in the region.

Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials say more than 35,000 people have been killed in the bloody revolt, which erupted at the end of 1989, after state elections which some Kashmiris say were rigged.

-- CNN's Ram Ramgopal contributed to this report

Reuters contributed to this report.