Soldier killed on Kashmir border

An Indian soldier has been killed in cross-border firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed territory of Kashmir, officials say.

Indian army officials said the firing occurred as they foiled an attempt by a group of militants to infiltrate Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday.

They say the attempt was "apparently backed by the Pakistani army".

Pakistan has not yet commented on the incident. The two armies have observed a ceasefire on the LoC since 2003.

"If it was fire from the Pakistani army then it can be termed as a ceasefire violation," an Indian army official said.

The army has said it will assess the situation and "will communicate disappointment to Pakistan over the incident".

The BBC's Binoo Joshi in Jammu, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, says that if this did turn out to be a ceasefire violation, it would be the third such violation in the area this year.

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony said last year that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire more than 30 times since it had been put in place.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the control of Kashmir.

For much of the last two decades, separatist militancy and cross-border firing between the Indian and Pakistani armies has left a death toll running into tens of thousands.

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