Masterminds of Kashmir bombing killed, India says

Indian security forces killed two suspected organisers of a suicide bombing in the disputed region of Kashmir that has fuelled tension between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, police said, with four soldiers also killed in the clash.

The suicide bomb attack on a paramilitary police convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday last week killed at least 40 men, the deadliest single attack on Indian forces in 30 years of insurgency in the Muslim-majority region.

Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. India accuses Pakistan of harbouring the group. Pakistan denies that.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing an election in May, is under domestic pressure to take decisive action against Pakistan.

Modi has promised a strong response and says he has given the military a free hand to tackle cross-border militancy.

The two suspected masterminds of the bomb attack killed in the clash on Monday were both Pakistani nationals and members of JeM, police said in a statement.

Four Indian soldiers and a civilian were also killed during the fighting, police said, while six were wounded, including several senior officers.

An indefinite curfew has been imposed in the area.

On Sunday, police said Indian forces had detained 23 men suspected of links to the militants who carried out the Thursday bombing.

After the bomb attack, India withdrew trade privileges offered to Pakistan and warned of further action.