Residents and merchants in Pattan said Indian army troops had set fire to their market in anger after two soldiers were shot by guerrillas. The troops stopped fire engines from approaching for five hours, witnesses said. By the time the firefighters arrived, there was nothing left.

Thirteen people died recently in a bomb blast at a vegetable market in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, 15 miles south-east of Pattan.

In Pattan, the rebels were targeting soldiers who came to buy food there. But once again, it was ordinary Kashmiris who bore the brunt of a ruthless war between Indian forces and separatist Islamic guerrillas.

Hardly a week goes by in the Kashmir valley without fresh violence. The body count rises almost daily.

Just six months ago, Indian authorities claimed they had vanquished the guerrilla movement. A decade of counter-insurgency campaigns had left most Kashmiri rebels dead or behind bars.

Today, a newly revived rebel movement has Indian forces on the defensive. It is better armed, better trained and more daring.

The operating methods of these new guerrillas are secretive and spectacular. In the past, armed squads would ambush military patrols or hurl grenades at police posts and run away. Now, they force their way into security facilities with guns blazing, seemingly prepared to die. Since November, they have attacked half a dozen security compounds in the region, leaving more than 50 people dead.

"For the first time in 10 years, the army is on the receiving end," said Tahir Mohideen, a newspaper editor.

Indian military officials say that now the rebels are mostly "foreigners" from Pakistan and other Muslim countries.

They belong to Islamic fundamentalist groups which aim not only to liberate Kashmir but to impose Islamic rule across the region.

The security forces have responded with a vengeance. Counter-insurgency troops raid villages and urban neighbourhoods daily. Military facilities are being fortified with extra barricades and weapons.

Popular anger against the Indian government is intensifying with incidents such as the burning of Pattan's market. And support for the guerrillas, however alien their origins and ideology, is spreading.

"This new militancy is very good for us," said Shabbir Dar, who owns a bakery in Srinagar. "We Kashmiris have been sitting in our houses for so long, feeling lost and afraid. But we all want our freedom. So we say, welcome Pakistanis, welcome Afghans, welcome Lebanese, welcome anyone who can help us."

Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. Political opposition leaders are uncomfortable about the "guest" rebels in their midst.

This is because of the guerrillas' radical Islamic agenda; because their aggressive tactics rob Kashmiris of their victim status; and because their Pakistani origins reinforce India's longstanding contention that Kashmir's independence movement is a tool of Pakistan.

"We are working on the same battle, and if someone says they want to help my cause, it's hard to object," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a senior Muslim cleric in Srinagar and chairman of the main opposition party, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference.

But he added: "It has come as a shock. A Kashmiri would never have thought of attacking a security brigade. These people are willing to do anything. It's a fully-fledged war."

Indian military officials here insist that the new rebels cannot win against the 700,000 Indian troops in the region. They claim that most Kashmiris - who practice a moderate Islam - are repelled by the militants' violent tactics and radical agenda.

But while many Kashmiris are wary of the foreign guerrillas, their bitterness toward Indian forces appears to be far deeper.