1 civilian killed, 4 kids injured in Indian firing

One Pakistani school bus driver was killed and four school children were injured in Indian shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), said the Pakistani army on Friday.

The latest incident happened after a lull of weeks along the LoC, the de facto border separated the two bitter neighbors in the disputed Kashmir region.

"One civilian embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and four school children were injured when Indian troops violating ceasefire sanctity targeted a school van at LoC in Nakial sector," the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The firing hit a school van, killing the driver and injuring four school children.

"Pakistani troops effectively responded and targeted Indian posts from where fire was coming," the statement said.

The two countries declared ceasefire along the LoC and working boundary in 2003. However, tensions have escalated since militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead.

The Indian side blamed a Pakistan-based militant group for the attack, but Islamabad rejected the accusation as groundless.

Both countries accused each other of ceasefire violation.

source: Xinhua