Trooper killed in sniper attack along LoC in Poonch

A soldier was killed due to sniper fire from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Balakote sector of border district Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

A police official said Naik Mehandir of 7/11 GR regiment was critically injured when Pakistani troops fired at a forward post in Balakote sector along the LoC on Tuesday afternoon.

The trooper, who was hit on the head, was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The official said the soldiers manning the fence also retaliated the fire and when reports last came in, the intermittent exchange of fire was going on.

The latest incident came a day after three minors were killed while a dozen civilians were injured as Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling and firing on forward areas and border hamlets in Poonch.

Sources said Pakistani troops have positioned snipers at odd locations close to the forward posts to target Indian troopers proceeding on long patrols and forward locations.

“Pak army relies on their team of snipers to target Indian positions and in the last one year, several Indian troopers have lost their lives in sniper shots,” the sources said. The ceasefire violations and sniper attacks by Pakistani troops are on the rise.

On September 20, a soldier was killed and three others injured in sniper fire from the Pakistani side along the LoC in Keran sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

On August 8, another soldier was killed due to sniper fire from across the LoC in Poonch. On July 12, two army men were killed in sniper firing by Pakistani troops in Keran sector.