Gunfire in Kashmir leaves 4 civilians dead, others wounded

Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged gunfire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing four civilians and wounding nearly a dozen others, officials from both sides said Wednesday, as tensions remain high between the two South Asian countries.

Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both countries in its entirety. They have fought two wars over the province.

India sparked a new round of tensions in August, when it downgraded the autonomy of its side of Kashmir and imposed tighter controls on the area.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it summoned an Indian diplomat to lodge a complaint over the previous day's "ceasefire violations" that killed three civilians, including two children, on the Pakistani side of the contested Kashmir border.

In neighbouring India, Lt.-Col. Devender Anand, an army spokesperson, said Pakistan fired at two dozen Indian army posts along the highly militarized Poonch sector Monday and Tuesday. He said Pakistani troops used mortar and machine-guns and targeted several villages as well.

Anand blamed Pakistan for initiating the gunfire and said Indian troops "befittingly" responded to what he called a series of unprovoked ceasefire violations. Earlier, an Indian civil administrator, Rahul Yadav, said that a young woman and several cattle were killed because of Pakistani firing in the Poonch sector Tuesday.

Also Wednesday, Indian police officer Parvaiz Ahmed said Indian security forces killed three militants in an exchange of gunfire in southern Kashmir after receiving intelligence that a group of militants was hiding in the town of Bijbehara.

Police also said gunmen fatally shot one brick kiln worker and one apple trader from the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Punjab on Wednesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Another trader from Punjab state was critically wounded after gunmen sprayed bullets inKashmir's southern Shopian district, a police officer said.

The police officer blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for the killings. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.

Kashmir's largest Indigenous rebel group, Hizbul Mujahideen, had warned that it would target Indians visiting Kashmir if New Delhi revoked Kashmir's special status.

Indian-administered Kashmir has experienced unrest and sporadic anti-government protests since New Delhi revoked its special status in August.