SRINAGAR, India, June 24 (Reuters) - Indian troops shot dead eight suspected Muslim militants on Sunday as they tried to cross the border from Pakistani-held Kashmir, a military spokesman said.

It was the highest number of guerrillas killed in a single day in the Himalayan region in recent weeks.

"Two groups of infiltrators were challenged in Uri and Kupwara sectors, which resulted in fierce firefights," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel A.K. Mathur said.

Uri and Kupwara lie along a military boundary known as the Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.

Violence in Kashmir has increased since winter snows melted, allowing easier movement of militants both within the Himalayan region and through the mountain passes from Pakistan.

The two countries, which launched a peace process in 2004, claim Kashmir in full but rule it in parts. New Delhi says Islamabad has not done enough to curb separatist militants operating from its soil, a charge Islamabad rejects.

Earlier on Sunday at least a dozen Indian policemen were wounded when their vehicle ran over a landmine on outskirts of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's summer capital, police said.

Officials say more than 42,000 people have been killed in Kashmir since a revolt against Indian rule erupted in 1989. But human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000.

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