Soldier killed in Kashmir gunfight

• Pakistani military says Indian side shot first


• Indian military: Pakistani rangers shot and killed an Indian soldier on New Year's Eve


• Bilateral ceasefire agreement held for years, but there have been recent breaches

Kashmir (CNN) -- The sound of gunfire marked New Year's Eve in the tense disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Pakistani rangers shot and killed an Indian soldier, India's military said. India's military shot and killed two Pakistani rangers, Pakistan's military said.

Both sides claimed that the other started the gunfight.

Indian military spokesman Dharminder Parikh said Pakistani rangers opened fire unprovoked at Indian positions in the Samba sector of Indian-administered Kashmir as the old year was coming to a close. A second Indian border soldier was wounded in the fight, he said.

Pakistan's Punjab Rangers said that their Indian counterparts had a meeting, and when two rangers contacted them, the Indian side opened fire. The two were wounded and later died, they said.

The two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire in border regions in November 2003, and the agreement held for years.

But there have been breaches in recent years.

Kashmir has been in the throes of separatist violence since 1989, which has claimed over 43,000 lives.

Indian soldiers killed in gunfight with militants in Kashmir

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