WORLD IN BRIEF : KASHMIR : Intelligence Agents Reported Kidnaped

Four Indian intelligence agents disappeared in Kashmir, and a news report said they were kidnaped by Muslim militants fighting for independence. Earlier, an Indian Cabinet minister who was dispatched to the war-torn region acknowledged that the government has held secret meetings with the separatists in a bid to open peace talks. United News of India, in a report from Jammu, said the missing agents, who provide security for senior government officials, were abducted from the Nawab Bazar area in downtown Srinagar. The governor of Jammu-Kashmir state said the men were on a regular patrol when the intelligence headquarters lost radio contact with them. Their burned jeep was found a half-hour later, he said.