Man injured in cross-LoC shelling in Poonch
Jammu: A 25-year-old man was injured in overnight mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
The shelling in Mendhar and Balakote sectors started around 11 pm on Saturday and continued till 4:50 am, the officials said.
Mohammad Yasir, a resident of Gohlad, received splinter injuries when a mortar shell exploded near his house in the early hours of Sunday, the officials said.
They said over half-a-dozen villages in forward areas were hit by the overnight shelling, resulting in partial damage to two houses.
The shelling was intense in Mendhar sector.
“The Indian army effectively retaliated but the casualties on the Pakistani side could not be ascertained immediately,” the official said.
Panic-stricken people in border areas spent the whole night in bunkers and other safe places, they said.
A defence spokesman said the Pakistan Army initiated the “unprovoked ceasefire violation” by firing with small arms and lobbing mortars along the LoC in Balakote and Mendhar sectors.
On Saturday, Pakistan had targeted forward areas in Kirni and Khari Karmara areas of Poonch district, he said.
