/asia
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- A border clash between Indian and Pakistani troops sparked heavy fighting Monday in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, an Indian military spokeswoman reported.
The fighting, which killed one Indian soldier, marks the first major skirmish between South Asia's nuclear rivals since a 2003 cease-fire.
It began Monday afternoon, when an Indian patrol encountered about 10 to 12 Pakistani soldiers across the Line of Control separating the territory, Capt. Neha Goyal told CNN.
The Pakistani troops "started firing on our patrol," she said. "There was one fatal casualty. Our troops also retaliated, and the Pakistan army troopers ran back."
Efforts to reach Pakistani officials for comment were unsuccessful late Monday. Goyal said Indian officials were not aware of any Pakistani casualties, but said heavy fighting was still going on late Monday.
Indian and Pakistani forces have exchanged periodic gunfire since May, but Monday's clashes appear to be a serious setback to the ongoing peace process between the two nations.
India and Pakistan had announced a bilateral cease-fire all along their borders in November 2003 and the cease-fire had been holding on the borders until recently.
Kashmir has been at the root of two wars between India and Pakistan, both of which tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
An 18-year separatist campaign in the Indian-controlled portion of the largely Muslim territory has claimed more than 43,000 lives, according to government officials, though human rights groups and non-governmental organizations put the toll at twice that number.
India has long accused Pakistan of supporting the separatists in Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.
A December 2001 attack on India's parliament that India blamed on the militants brought the two nations to the brink of another war, but they have expanded economic and cultural ties since the November 2003 cease-fire agreement.
Journalist Mukhtar Ahmad contributed to this report
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