Five civilians died in Indian cross-border firing last night in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a government spokesperson reported today, following days of hostilities between the nuclear neighbours. The fatalities were confirmed in locations close to the highly militarized divide called the Line of Control that demarcates the Kashmir territory between India and Pakistan.
Indian troops shelled civilian zones. Killing four, including a two-year-old girl, and wounding 12 others,” police officer Adeel Khan, who is stationed in Kotli district, said to the AFP, adding that the shelling persisted late into the night.
In retaliation, the Pakistan Army launched a fierce counterattack, targeting three Indian positions along the Line of Control. In Muzaffarabad, the administrative capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a government official confirmed the deaths in Kotli on condition that they not be named and included a fifth death in Bagh district.
A security official in Muzaffarabad who did not want to be quoted said: “A mortar shell fired by Indian troops hit a civilian house in Bagh, killing a young man and injuring his two sisters.”
