Jammu, October 21:

Soldiers killed five suspected militants in two separate gunbattles in Indian-controlled Kashmir today, officials said, while one soldier shot dead three colleagues and wounded three others before attempting to kill himself.

Three suspected militants were killed in a gunfight in Rampur after midnight Friday when they were spotted crossing into India from the Pakistani-controlled portion of Kashmir, said Lt Col AK Mathur, an army spokesman.

In a separate gunbattle, two militants were killed when they were caught moving into Indian territory from Pakistan near Kanjalwan, also along the frontier that separates Pakistan and Indian-held Kashmir, said Mathur.

Both Rampur and Kanjalwan are about 140 km north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir.

It was impossible to independently verify the army’s claims.

Meanwhile, an Indian soldier sprayed his colleagues with gunfire killing three instantly and injuring three others at an army camp in Narain in Rajouri district of Jammu-Kashmir, said Col RK Chibber, a defence spokesman.

The soldier, who was not identified, was critically wounded when he later tried to shoot himself, Chibber said.

Narain is about 180 km northwest of Jammu.