Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 7: After overnight intermittent firing, Pakistani troops targeted Indian forward posts and hamlets along the Line of Control (LoC) in Sabzian sector of Poonch district for fourth consecutive day with rocket projectile grenades (RPGs), mortar bombs and medium machine guns in early hours of this morning and continued it till late in the afternoon, leaving an Army jawan injured.
Official sources said Pakistan troops resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling, besides RPGs, this morning even as intermittent firing was on overnight on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Sabzian area of Poonch district.
Indian troops guarding the border retaliated resulting in heavy exchange which continued till late this afternoon. An Army jawan was injured in the shelling while houses suffered damage after being hit by the bullets and splinters of mortar shells.
The Sabzian sector in Poonch has been under intermittent fire from Pakistan troops for the past three days, possibly to facilitate infiltration from across the border, sources said.
“Security has been beefed up along the LoC to foil any designs of militants especially the infiltration attempts under the cover of shelling and firing by the Pakistani troops,” sources said.
With today’s ceasefire violation, there have been 15 such incidents in the past six days.
Yesterday, Pakistani troops resorted to intermittent firing of automatic weapons, RPGs and mortar shells along the LoC in Poonch district.
On August 5, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice and targeted Indian forward posts and hamlets with RPGs, mortar shells and medium machine guns, in which three civilians including a woman were injured.
On August 4, a youth was killed and two others were injured, including a BSF jawan, when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to firing and mortar shelling on border out posts and hamlets along the International Border in 4 sectors of Kanachak, Pargwal, Tawi and R S Pura in Jammu district.
On August 4, the firing had started 05:40 hours and continued intermittently till 14:30 hours, a BSF spokesman said, adding that Pakistani Rangers used long range weapons and medium machine guns and targeted about 17 BSF Posts and other Border Villages.
Pakistani Rangers also violated the ceasefire by resorting to small arms firing and mortar shelling on 3 BoPs along the IB in Akhnoor sector in Jammu district yesterday.
On August 2 and 3, Pakistani troops had violated the ceasefire four times by resorting to small arms firing in forward posts along LoC in Krishna Ghati, Mandi, Balakote and Pallanwalla sectors of Poonch and Jammu districts.
There were two ceasefire violations on August 1. Pakistani Rangers had resorted to firing of mortar bombs on border out posts along the International Border in R S Pura sector in Jammu district on August 1.
There have been 18 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak border in July in which four persons, including three jawans, were killed and 14 others injured.
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