1 woman killed in Pakistani shelling on second day

Jammu, Aug 16: A woman was killed on Sunday in indiscriminate shelling and firing by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district that continued for the second day, an official said.

"The Pakistan Army again resorted to indiscriminate shelling and gunfire in Mandi and Balakot sectors of Poonch district," Defence Ministry Spokesman Col. Manish Mehta told IANS.

"The firing started at 3 a.m. and is still on. Our troops retaliated appropriately to the firing," he said.

"A woman died around 6 a.m. due to Pakistani shelling," an official said.

Five civilians have died since Saturday because of the indiscriminate shelling. The woman is the sixth victim in two days.

Three civilians were killed on India's Independence Day on Saturday when their car was hit by a shell fired from the Pakistan side in Mendhar sector of the district.

Many civilians gathered at the site where the car was hit, when they were hit by a second shell fired from Pakistan, injuring more than 20 of them.

One of the injured later died. A 10-year old boy also died late Saturday, taking the toll to five. The casualties have now risen to six with the woman's death.

Four injured were being treated at a hospital here. Two of them are said to be in a critical condition.

The Pakistan Army began shelling on Saturday morning on civilian areas in Mendhar, Saujiyan and Mandi sectors of the LoC in Poonch district.