Two militants allegedly from Pakistan have killed at least five Indian paramilitary policemen in Kashmir, after ambushing the security force dressed as cricketers.

It is reported that two gunmen ambushed the police on an open patch of land near a school in Kashmir's principal city, Srinagar. Children had been playing cricket in the area prior to the attack.

Initial police reports claimed both the assailants have also been killed in the attack. Three civilians and six other security personnel have sustained injuries.

"Five of our CRPF Jawans (members of Central Reserve Police Force) were martyred. Two fidayeen (suicide militants) were neutralised and searches are going on," a senior police official at the scene told reporters.

No militant outfit has yet claimed responsibility for the shootings. It is thought the attack was sparked by recent protests demanding that the remains of Kashmiri freedom fighter Afzal Guru be returned.

Guru, originally from the Kashmir valley, was convicted of attacking India's parliament building in 2001, and recently hanged in secret, prompting tension across the disputed border region.

This is the first major attack in Kashmir in the last three years. A similar attack in January 2010 killed three militants and five others.