Woman killed as Pak heavily shells civilian areas along LoC

Jammu: A 24-year-old woman was killed on Tuesday in heavy shelling by the Pakistan Army, targeting villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said.

Shameema Akhtar, a resident of Noona-Bandi, was killed in the Pakistani shelling in the Shahpur sector, Poonch District Development Commissioner Rahul Yadav said.

He said four buffaloes also perished in the Pakistani shelling on forward villages and posts since the morning.

Earlier, a defence spokesperson said the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire by resorting to small-arms firing and mortar shelling in the Qasba and Kirni sectors of Poonch around 9.30 am. The Indian Army retaliated effectively to silence the Pakistani guns, but the casualties suffered by the other side were not known immediately, he said. A police official said the firing intensified as the day passed and spread to the nearby Shahpur sector, causing panic among the border residents. Most of the people stayed indoors, the official said, adding that Akhtar was hit by splinters after a mortar shell landed near her.