Widening the sweep of its mortar shelling, Pakistani troops on Wednesday targeted forward Indian positions for the fifth straight day killing four persons, including three Army jawans, in Jammu-Poonch and Kargil sectors forcing heavy exodus of civilians.
"Using heavy weaponry and rocket launchers, Pakistani troops fired at Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu-Poonch sector and targetted villages in Kathua district in Hiranagar sub-sector since this morning," official sources said in Jammu.
Indian troops hit back from all the positions that came under attack triggering heavy exchange of fire.
Reports of casualties or damage on the Pakistani side were not immediately available. "Several villages were targeted by Pakistani troops with mortar bombs and rockets intermittently," the sources said. Each of these villages reported three to four shells exploding in populous areas.
Shelling was more intense in Londi and Chak Dulma villages amidst reports that 867 families migrated to safer areas.
Villagers in several border areas of Samba sector have moved to safer places due to continued firing by Pakistani troops in Jammu division in the last four days. "In Kargil, shelling from across the border started in the wee hours with Batalik, Hunderman and Kaksar sectors being the worst hit," the sources said. Bureau Report