India, Feb. 19 -- Tensions escalated after a suicide attack in disputed Kashmir, with nine people killed Monday in a gunbattle that broke out as Indian soldiers searched for militants.

Government forces surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area on a tip that militants were hiding there, security officials said. As troops began conducting searches, they came under heavy gunfire, leading to a clash that killed four soldiers, three suspected militants, a police official and a civilian.

Three army officers, a senior police officer and three other soldiers were wounded in the operation, which follows the suicide attack last Thursday on a paramilitary convoy that killed at least 40 soldiers, the worst attack against Indian government ...