Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani says the soldiers died Monday after militants ambushed troops during a search operation in Hafruda forest near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Gillani said the militants managed to escape the area after attacking the soldiers.
He said three militants were killed in two separate encounters with government troops in the area Sunday and Monday.
Since 1989, rebels have fought against Indian rule. More than 68,000 people have died in the uprising and a subsequent Indian military crackdown.
Related story
2 Indian soldiers killed along disputed Kashmir frontier
