Kashmir: India PM Manmohan Singh visits a day after deadly attack

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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is visiting Indian-administered Kashmir, a day after militants killed eight soldiers in the deadliest attack in the region in five years.

The PM, along with the Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, laid the foundation of a power project in Kishtwar.

On Wednesday he is due to inaugurate a multi-million dollar railway tunnel.

It will link the region with India's railway network, easing travel between Srinagar and rest of the country.

Meanwhile security has been tightened in Srinagar, the main city in the region.

Separatists have called a two-day strike to coincide with the visit, saying the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved by economic grants and infrastructure projects.

Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989.

In recent years violence has abated from its peak in the 1990s, but the causes of the insurgency are still far from resolved.

After a lull in violence for a few years, militant activity has risen in recent weeks, with busy market places often targeted.

Two policemen were shot and killed by militants in Srinagar over the weekend.

In Monday's attack, eight soldiers were killed in the Hyderpora area of Srinagar when militants fired at an Indian army convoy. Several others were wounded in the attack.