A militant attack on an Indian Army patrol in Jammu and Kashmir killed four soldiers, including an officer, the army said on Tuesday.

The deaths take to 11 this year's tally of Indian soldiers killed in such attacks, as the epicentre of militant activity has shifted in recent years to the Jammu region from the occupied Kashmir valley, authorities have said.

A firefight broke out after militants ambushed the foot patrol in the woods of Doda district late on Monday, army officials said.

In a statement, the army said it had moved additional troops into the area, as the operation continues.

The spate of militant attacks aims to return the violence to a level that prevailed in the decade from 1995, the region's chief of police, R.R. Swain, told reporters. "They have found a gap for sure," he said on Monday, referring to the infiltration of militants into the region. "We will deal with it."

Past militant attacks in the India-held region had focused mostly on Muslim-dominated Kashmir. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh offered condolences to the relatives of the dead in Monday's attack.

Similar attacks in the Jammu region have killed 43 soldiers in the last three years.