The three suspected rebels were killed trying to cross from the Pakistan side of the divided state early Sunday, a police spokesman said.

In other violence, a landmine attack by rebels on an Indian police convoy wounded 10 on the outskirts of the summer capital, Srinagar, on Sunday morning, a police spokesman said.

"The policemen were returning from counter-insurgency operations when the attack took place," he said, adding two policemen were in critical condition.

The fresh violence came as region's most powerful rebel group, Hizbul Mujahedin, said it would shun a call by New Delhi to lay down arms and hold peace talks to resolve the 18-year rebellion against New Delhi's rule.

"The gun only can lead to the resolution of the Kashmir issue. We will never accept India's condition to shun the gun and join the dialogue process," Gazi Misbaudin, Hizbul's chief commander of operations told the local Current News Service in an interview.

New Delhi has held talks with some Kashmiri separatist groups who oppose the continued violence and want to be part of a peace process between India and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan both claim the Muslim-dominated region. New Delhi alleges Islamabad arms and trains the rebels. Pakistan denies the charge.

The two sides, however, have engaged in a peace process since January 2004 to resolve the dispute that has claimed at least 42,000 lives by official count since 1989.