India said Sunday two soldiers and a civilian were killed in cross-border shelling with Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, while Islamabad said six died on its side, making it one of the deadliest days since New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special status in August.
Three Indian civilians were injured and some buildings and vehicles destroyed because of several hours of heavy shelling by both sides in the Tanghdar region in northern Kashmir late Saturday night, a senior police official said.
Pakistan said six of its civilians were killed and eight wounded in the clash.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
There was an unprovoked cease-fire violation by Pakistan in Tanghdar sector, said Indian defense spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia.
“Our troops retaliated strongly causing heavy damage and casualties to the enemy,” Kalia said.
Indian forces in occupied Kashmir have gone “berserk,” Raja Farooq Haider, prime minister of Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir region, said in a tweet, adding that the civilian casualties and injuries were in the Muzaffarabad and Neelum districts.
“This is the height of savagery. The world must not stay silent over it,” he said in his tweet with the hashtag #KashmirNeedsAttention.
Tensions between the two countries have flared and there has been intermittent cross-border firing since Aug. 5 when New Delhi flooded Indian Kashmir with troops to quell unrest after it revoked the region’s special autonomous status.