Jammu: An army soldier was today killed and two women were injured when Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts and villages using small arms and mortar shells along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri districts.
“Ceasefire violations in Rajouri sector are being retaliated with massive fire assault. One army soldier was martyred,” a spokesman of the Army’s Northern Command said. Two women have also been injured, one of them seriously, in the firing in Poonch sector.
“Two women have been injured. One of them seriously and has been shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) Jammu,” a senior police officer J S Johar said.
Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by firing on Indian positions and villages in the two border districts since early this morning.
“Pakistani troops indulged in unprovoked ceasefire violation from 9 am in the Balakote sector using 120 mm and 82 mm mortars, automatic and small arms,” an army officer said. He said the troops were responding to the firing appropriately.
Pakistani Army fired and shelled the forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Mendhar sector of Poonch district. They also violated ceasefire in several areas of Rajouri district this afternoon, the officer said. There was firing and mortar bomb shelling in Mankot and Balakote areas along the LoC.
Areas along the international border had fallen quiet since 9 pm yesterday after ceasefire violations by Pakistani Rangers.
They had targeted BSF posts and civilian areas using small arms and mortar shells in continuous ceasefire violations along the border in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts, prompting the Border Security Force or BSF to retaliate.
There have been more that 60 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control and international border in the state since surgical strikes against terror launch pads by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.
Eleven people, including three civilians, and eight security personnel were killed and over 40 people, mostly civilians were injured in the incidents.
PTI