NEW DELHI, Nov. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A trooper was killed when separatist guerrillas stormed a paramilitary camp in Indian-administered Kashmir early Saturday, hours before India's Home Minister Shivraj Patil began a visit to the region.

    The attack on the heavily guarded Border Security Force (BSF) camp took place in the northern Kashmir town of Sopore, 50 km of Srinagar, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported.

    One of the attackers was gunned down while five BSF troopers were injured in the attack.

    "The attackers hurled grenades and resorted to heavy firing from their automatic weapons on the BSF guards. They later forced their way inside the camp," IANS quoted a local police officer as saying.

    "The BSF troopers took positions inside the camp and returned fire, killing one attacker. Reinforcements were rushed to the areawhich was sealed."

    The BSF camp is located in the fruit market at Sopore, famous for its apples.

    Following an extensive search after the attack, police officerssaid another attacker had escaped after the gun battle.

    The injured troopers are being treated in a local hospital.

    The firefight triggered panic in Sopore as it erupted just after people had finished their pre-dawn meal before beginning their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

    Patil is visiting Indian-administered Kashmir for an assessmentof the situation in the region and to make efforts to resume the dialogue with separatist leaders.

    More than 40,000 people have died since the eruption of anti-Indian insurgency in the region in 1989. Enditem