Updated

Police say a pair of ambushes by Indian government forces and Kashmiri rebels have killed two soldiers and two militants in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Police director-general S.P. Vaid says militants early Thursday ambushed soldiers in southern Shopian area as troops raided a village on a tip that rebels were hiding there.

One of the slain soldiers was an Indian army major.

Vaid says two Kashmiri rebels were killed separately as they walked into an ambush laid by government forces in southern Kulgam area.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both the countries claim it in its entirety. Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 against Indian rule. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.