Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy artillery fire in Kashmir yesterday, destroying a school building and damaging three houses on the Indian side of the disputed Himalayan region, police said.

　　The cross-border shelling was reported from the Turtuk sector in Kargil district, about 230 kilometers northeast of Srinagar, capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

　　Dozens of residents in a Turtuk village left their homes for safer places, a local police officer reported.

　　Indian and Pakistani troops routinely shell each other, but there had been a lull since April, when leaders of the two countries renewed efforts to resume talks on Kashmir and other issues after a gap of two years.

　　The South Asian nuclear rivals have fought two of their three wars over control of Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.

　　Police blamed guerrillas for planting a land mine that exploded yesterday, wounding five civilians in Shopiyan, south of Srinagar.

　　Unidentified gunmen shot to death a civilian yesterday in Khiram village. Several guerrilla groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. The 13-year insurgency has killed more than 61,000 people, mostly civilians.

　　Meantime, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf left for Britain on a four-nation tour that includes a trip to the United States during which he will seek economic assistance and military hardware.

　　He is scheduled to hold talks with US President George W. Bush at Camp David on June 24.

　　Musharraf's talks with Bush will also cover recent peace overtures between Pakistan and its nuclear rival India. Washington has been encouraging Pakistan and India to resolve their long-standing disputes, including over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two neighbors.

　　After his talks with Bush, Musharraf will travel to France and Germany before returning home.