SRINAGAR (AFP) - An Indian army lieutenant and a dozen suspected freedom fighters were killed Saturday in a clash along the Line of Control, the army said. The fighting erupted in the northern Gurez district when a group of heavily-armed men tried to infiltrate Held Kashmir from the Pakistani zone, the army said. So far a dozen fighters have been killed in the ongoing operation, Indian army spokesman JS Brar told AFP. He said an army lieutenant was also killed and two soldiers injured during heavy exchange of fire that started early Saturday. By killing the fighters we have foiled a major attempt by them to enter (Indian) Kashmir, Brar said. He said six bodies had been recovered, while six others were lying in a stream, just 20 metres from Azad Kashmir. We are trying to retrieve those bodies but the flow of water is too heavy, Brar said, terming the clash as one of the fiercest in recent years. Separately, at least 18 people were killed and over a dozen more injured Saturday when an overcrowded minibus plunged into a gorge in Held Kashmir, police said. The accident took place in southern Poonch district, a police spokesman said, adding that 17 injured passengers were in a critical condition. The speeding bus rolled down into a gorge while negotiating a sharp curve in the mountains of Poonch, police said. Seriously injured people have been shifted to (winter capital) Jammu, the spokesman said. Bus accidents are common in the Himalayan region because of a combination of bad roads, overcrowding and poor vehicle maintenance.