Four Pakistani soldiers were martyred on Monday in shelling by Indian forces across LoC, the Pakistani army said, the latest clash between the neighbours who have also been exchanging heated challenges. "Troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round," the Pakistani military said of the attack in which the four men were killed, in the Jandrot region.

Pakistani forces responded, killing three Indian soldiers and wounding several, it said. India's military told Reuters that Pakistani forces fired first and no casualties were recorded on the Indian side. On another section of Line of Control (LoC) dividing India said its forces on Monday killed five member of a militant group trying to slip into Indian held Kashmir.

"They crossed the Jhelum river which is de facto border in the area. We allowed them to cross the river and challenged them. All of the five who crossed the river were killed," said an Indian officer, Major General Gulab Singh Rawat. A Pakistani military source, who declined to be identified, denied that any militants had been killed trying to cross from the Pakistani side to the Indian side.

Copyright Reuters, 2018