Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir late on Thursday, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.
In Pakistan, an intense night of artillery exchanges left at least four civilians dead and wounded 12 others in areas near the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, local police said.
People in border towns said the firing continued well into yesterday morning.
Photo: AP
Two people were killed and four others injured in Uri and Poonch sectors, police said, taking the civilian death toll in Indian-controled Kashmir to 18 since Wednesday.
Pakistan said Indian mortar and artillery fire has killed 17 civilians in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the same period.
Indian authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of civilians from villages near the frontier. Thousands of people slept in shelters for a second consecutive night.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack on a popular tourist site in Indian-controled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The army said no casualties were reported.
On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, Pakistani officials said.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
Pakistan denied that it carried out drone attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India said it hit Pakistan’s air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore.
The incidents could not be independently confirmed.
As fears of military confrontation soar, US Vice President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be “none of our business.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News.
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