Pakistan says explosion in Kashmir kills 5 soldiers

ISLAMABAD – An explosion killed five of Pakistani soldiers and wounded one near the heavily militarized border with neighbouring India in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday.

India and Pakistan have fought several wars over the control of Kashmir, which both countries claim and is de facto divided between them.

In a statement, Pakistan’s military said the “incident” pointed to a violation by India of the ceasefire agreement.

However, the military said it was still trying to determine the cause of the explosion, without giving any further details.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, Lt. Col. Devender Rana, an Indian army spokesman, refuted the charge. He said “to our knowledge, no incident has taken place” along the so-called Line of Control in Kashmir.

The latest incident comes months after tensions flared following a Feb. 14 suicide attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

India responded with an airstrike inside Pakistan, saying it targeted the facility of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group which claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

No one was wounded in the Indian strike, but Pakistan retaliated by shooting down two Indian air force planes and capturing a pilot who was later released.

Pakistan since then has arrested several members of Jaish-e-Mohammad and other terrorist groups, and seized their assets.

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Associated Presswriters Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi, India, Asim Tanveer in Islamabad and Roshan Mughal in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.