Indian trooper wounded in landmine blast on Kashmir LoC

An Indian trooper was wounded in a landmine blast near the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, Indian police in Kashmir said Tuesday.

The blast, which happened in Mendhar sector of Poonch district, about 185 km southwest of Srinagar, on Monday evening, was triggered by a fallen stone, police said.

The soldier was immediately evacuated and sent to a military hospital for treatment.

LoC is de facto border that divides Kashmir into Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts. Both sides of the ceasefire line is believed to be heavily mined.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a Geneva-based network seeking ban of landmines has been urging both New Delhi and Islamabad to ban the use of landmines and launch comprehensive mine clearance programs.

According to the ICBL, landmines on LoC and the international border were mostly laid in 1947, 1960s, 1970s and during 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi and Islamabad in 2003 agreed to observe ceasefire along the 720-km long LoC and the 198-km long international border. Though some violations have been reported on both sides, the ceasefire however remains in effect.

Over the last more than two decades, many people were killed or left crippled after inadvertently fiddling with the explosives or stepping upon landmines planted blindly in the region particularly along LoC. Endit