Five civilians, including four members of a family, were killed as shells fired by Pakistan Army landed near a house at Mendhar, Poonch in Jammu on Sunday morning.
Army spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand told THE WEEK that Pakistan shelled a village close to the line of control at 7.45 am.
“They specifically targetted the civilian areas and one shell landed close to the veranda of a house killing four members of a family,'' Anand said.
Those killed in the attack, which came after a few weeks of a lull in the cross LoC firing, were identified as Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Malka Bi, Faizan, Rizwan, and Mehreen.
Police sources said the shells hit the house of Mohammad Ramzan.
Jammu and Kashmir SDP SP Vaid in a tweet said: “Due to shelling from across in Balakote sector of Poonch, five civilians lost their lives. Two others, who were injured, have been shifted to the hospital.”
The Army retaliated to “silence the enemy'' guns, Anand said.
In Poonch, Pakistan has been exploiting the height advantage to target military and civilian installations.
This killing of five civilians is the highest number of civilian casualties in a day in cross LoC firing and shelling this year.