Indian troops kill 4 Pakistani passengers in cross LoC firing: Pakistani army

Pakistani army said Wednesday that at least four civilians were killed and seven others were injured by Indian troops in a latest cross Line of Control (LoC) firing in the disputed Kashmir region.

"Indian troops targeted a civil bus near the LoC in Neelam valley. Four embraced shahadat (martyred) while seven were injured," an army statement said.

Police officials in the area have been quoted as saying that at least nine people were killed and 15 others were wounded in the firing.

Jamil Mir, superintendent of police, in Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, told the media that the bus was heading to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the valley.

Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on Tuesday over the cross-LoC attack, according to the foreign ministry.

Escalation between Pakistan and India along the LoC and the working boundary has been seen since suspected militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September. The attack had killed 19 soldiers.

Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC and working boundary in 2003. However, firing exchanges do take place time to time and the cross-LoC firing and shelling has increased in recent days. Both countries accused each other for the ceasefire violations.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule. Endit