SRINAGAR: A police officer and four suspected militants were killed in separate incidents Sunday in Indian administered-Kashmir as hundreds of residents clashed with security forces in the region hit by weeks of deadly unrest.

Indian soldiers shot and killed four militants as they tried to cross the heavily militarised border, an army official alleged.

"They tried to infiltrate into Nowgam sector and were intercepted. Four militants were killed and their AK rifles were recovered," army spokesman NN Joshi said, referring to the area northwest of the main city of Srinagar.

An unknown number of 'militants' later killed a police officer in Poonch sector south of Srinagar, an officer in the area's police control room told AFP.

Security forces were called in to hunt down the militants, sparking a fierce and ongoing gunbattle, the unnamed officer said, without giving more details.

Eighty civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the worst violence to hit the Muslim-majority territory since 2010.

A curfew has been lifted from much of the region since protests broke out over the death on July 8 of a popular young rebel leader in a gunbattle with security forces.

But the unrest shows few signs of abating, with residents continuing to take to the streets, while schools and most businesses remain closed, hitting the region's economy hard.