India: Pakistan firing on Kashmir LoC kills its trooper

Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 30 (Xinhua) -- An Indian military trooper was killed in firing from the Pakistan side on Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir, officials said Thursday.

The trooper was killed at Krishna Ghati sector of frontier Poonch district, around 185 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Last night, a trooper Rachpal Singh was killed in Poonch district in a sniper attack by Pakistan troops," a military spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta told Xinhua. "The trooper was critically wounded in the firing but succumbed later."

This is third fatality to Indian side since the beginning of this month on LoC in restive region.

Reports said a fresh cease-fire violation was reported on LoC in the district during Thursday evening.

"An exchange of fire broke out between the two sides and it was going on," an official said.

Both New Delhi and Islamabad accuse each other of resorting to unprovoked firings and violating cease-fire agreements. And both sides maintain that their troops gave befitting reply to the other side.

The troops of India and Pakistan intermittently exchange fire on 720 km-long LoC and 198-km IB in Kashmir, despite an agreement in 2003 to observe a cease-fire. Though some violations have been reported on both sides, the cease-fire however remains in effect.

LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts, which is heavily guarded by military on both sides.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.