Five hurt in Pak firing on LoC

Four soldiers and a civilian were injured in renewed Pakistani shelling and mortar fire along the Line Of Control in Kargil in the hilly Ladakh region.

A defence ministry spokesman in Srinagar said Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked heavy artillery and mortar fire along the LoC in Kargil late on Tuesday. The Indian soldiers, he said, also came under heavy volume of small arms fire.

The firing in Kargil comes on the heels of last week's heavy shelling along the LoC in the Uri and Kupwara sectors. Two soldiers, including Major Deepinder Bhuchar, were killed in the firing. ''Indian forces, with a view to preventing escalation," the defence spokesman said, "have exercised restraint."

Meanwhile, in a six hour gun battle between foreign militants and the security forces, four guerrillas and one Border Security Force jawan were killed in the Lal Bazaar area in the state capital. Five houses were also destroyed in the violence.

The police said the Special Task Force and BSF raided a house at Lal Bazaar early on Wednesday morning, but came under heavy fire from the militants. The firing continued till late in the afternoon.

The security forces are reported to have fired mortars at the house to end the shootout. Residents told this correspondent, "this was the deadly gun battle in the area."

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