Pak violates ceasefire in Poonch

Pakistan troops today targeted Indian posts with heavy firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir in yet another violation of the ceasefire, prompting retaliation by Indian forces.
Pakistan troops fired 81-mm mortar shells and directed automatic and small-arms fire at Indian posts along the LoC in the Mendhar-BhimberGali-Keri forward areas of Poonch district at around 0730 hours today, said a senior Army officer.
No casualty or damage has been reported on this side of the LoC due to the firing, he said.
Indian troops guarding the border effectively replied with similar calibre weapons, he said, adding that the "exchanges occurred in three forward areas".

The firing comes a day after an IED blast in the Tarkundi forward area along the LoC in Poonch in which one jawan was killed and three others injured.
Between end of April and mid-May, 19 incidents of ceasefire violation were reported along the LoC here.
In 2013, 12 jawans were killed and 41 injured in 149 ceasefire violations and firing incidents by Pakistan troops on forward posts, civilian areas and patrolling parties along the Indo-Pak border.