Third Army soldier killed by Pakistani sniper along LoC in J&K

Srinagar, Nov 11: An Army soldier was killed Sunday by a Pakistani sniper along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, the third fatal casualty due to sniping from across the border in three days. The soldier, manning a forward post in Kalal area of Noushera sector, was shot by a Pakistani sniper, resulting in his death, they said.

The officials said Indian troops guarding the border retaliated strongly and effectively and the exchange of fire between the two sides continued for some time.

On Saturday, a soldier was killed after he was hit by a sniper in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. Rifleman Varun Kattal, 21, a resident of Mawa-Rajpura area of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by a Pakistani sniper in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, triggering an exchange of fire between the two sides which also left two BSF personnel injured.

An Army portar lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector a day earlier. On October 21, three soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir light infantry regiment and two heavily-armed infiltrators, believed to be members of the Border Action Team (BAT) of the Pakistani army, and terrorists, were killed in Sunderbani sector.

On November 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border at Kalal in Noushera sector of Rajouri, while a BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident of firing by Pakistan along the LoC in the Manjakote area of the Rajouri-Poonch sector Friday. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years.

The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry.

PTI