Violence flared anew in disputed Kashmir yesterday, leaving at least 12 dead, though Indian and Pakistani soldiers held their fire for a second day on one of the world's most militarized frontiers.

　　A cease-fire between the two armies went into effect from midnight Tuesday, their first formal accord in 14 years. But India said it would continue to hunt down suspected militants crossing into Indian Kashmir from Pakistani territory - and the separatists vowed to continue fighting.

　　By midday yesterday, Indian and Pakistani army officials reported that there had been no firing along the 1,125-kilometer frontier.

　　But Indian security forces battled suspected rebels in villages along the border and a grenade attack on a busy market in the summer capital of Indian-held Kashmir killed a shopkeeper and wounded nine passers-by, two of them seriously, police said.

　　No one claimed responsibility, but police blamed separatist rebels fighting for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan. Police officer Javed Ahmed said the attackers were targeting a security checkpoint, but hit a shop instead.

　　The cease-fire began with Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. It covers the recognized border between India and Pakistan and the unofficial frontiers dividing two longtime points of friction - Kashmir and the Siachen Glacier.

　　While the silencing of guns has been cause for celebration for most frontier villagers, some in volatile Kashmir said yesterday's bloodshed showed there was little hope of peace until the Indian government and separatist guerrillas also agree to a truce.

　　"There is no cease-fire with the rebels," said Yusuf Naqshbandi, a school teacher who witnessed yesterday's grenade attack. "So we will continue to bear the brunt of violence."

　　Earlier, a pre-dawn gunbattle in the village of Nowgam, about 100 kilometers north of Srinagar, left four suspected rebels dead and several houses destroyed, police said.

　　Details were sketchy, but Ahmed said suspected militants were surrounded by security forces. Authorities said the militants belonged to Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen, a Pakistan-based militant group which has vowed to continue fighting despite the cease-fire.

　　Near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the South Asian nuclear rivals, suspected rebels shot and killed a police officer.

　　In separate gunfights north of Jammu, the winter capital of India's only Muslim-majority state, police said six suspected militants were killed.

　　There was no way to independently verify the claims that those killed in any of the attacks were Islamic militants. The Indian army and police have been accused by human rights groups of staging attacks and violating civil liberties under the pretext of fighting terrorism in the region.

　　Human rights activists fear clashes between security forces and the rebels will intensify.

　　India has accused Pakistan of using artillery fire as a cover to help militants sneak into Jammu-Kashmir to attack government forces and civilians. More than 65,000 people have died in the fighting.

　　Pakistan says it gives the militants only diplomatic and moral support in their goal to merge the Indian portion of Jammu-Kashmir with Pakistan or make it independent.

　　The two nations have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.