SRINAGAR - An avalanche on the high-Siachen glacier that is disputed between India and Pakistan killed at least six Indian soldiers on Sunday when their outpost was swept away before dawn."The avalanche struck a forward post early on Sunday morning, burying seven soldiers," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar told AFP. "Rescue operations were launched immediately and so far six bodies have been recovered. The rescue effort is still ongoing." Thousands of soldiers from both nations endure bitter conditions on the glacier, which is dubbed "The world's highest battleground", due to the long-running territorial dispute.An estimated 8,000 troops have died since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.According to Times of India, this was for the first time in several years that an avalanche has hit an Indian position in the glacier area.