Indian Border Security Force troops patrol the India-Pakistan border. (File photo)
Indian and Pakistani army troops have exchanged fire in the Poonch district of the disputed Kashmir region in the latest flare-up of tensions between the two neighbors.
The firefight broke out along the Line of Control (LoC) — the de facto and UN-monitored border between the two countries — late on Friday and continued until the early hours of Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Indian military officials blamed Pakistani troops for the Å“unprovoked” firing on their checkpoints in the area, thereby forcing Indian soldiers to retaliate.
“Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing on several Indian forward posts along LoC in Durga Battalion area of Poonch district at around 22:20 p.m. (1650 GMT) last night,” Indian Defense Ministry Spokesman S.N. Acharya told the media in New Delhi on Saturday.
He added, Å“They fired 7,000 rounds of heavy weaponry Pika ammunition and medium mortars, targeting several Indian posts in order to cause heavy causalities until 4:30 a.m. on Saturday (2300 Friday).”
The spokesman further noted that Indian troops fired 4,595 rounds of medium machine guns, 111 rocket-propelled grenades, 11 rockets and 18 mortar shells in retaliation.
He said there was no report of any damage or casualty on the Indian side.
On August 6, five Indian soldiers were killed in an attack in the Poonch area of Kashmir.
India initially blamed Pakistan’s army for the incident, but later, Indian Defense Minister AK Antony said the attack had been carried out by 20 “heavily armed terrorists along with others dressed in Pakistani army uniforms.”
Pakistan’s military denied that its troops had been involved in any attack on the Indian soldiers.
Kashmir lies at the heart of more than 60 years of hostility between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the region in full but each only has control over a section of the territory.
Over the past two decades, the conflict in Kashmir has left over 47,000 people dead by the official count, although other sources say the death toll could be as high as 90,000.
MP/SS
Republished from: Press TV