Indian troops kill Pak soldier near LoC
16 February, 2013
SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD: Indian troops shot dead a Pakistani soldier along the Line of Control in the Held Kashmir region in the first deadly exchange since a truce was agreed a month ago, officials said Friday. An Indian army spokesman said that the soldier had been killed in a firefight in which one Indian soldier was also wounded, and an AK47 rifle was discovered by his side when the body was recovered. "We detected some suspicious movement yesterday near the LoC inside our territory and the challengers from our side fired and in the ensuing firefight he was killed," Lieutenant Colonel Rajesh Kalia, a spokesman for the Indian army's northern command, told AFP. "At that time we did not know he was a Pakistani soldier. We killed an infiltrator," the spokesman added. Kalia said that India expected to return the body to the Pakistani authorities later in the day. The Pakistani military condemned the killing, saying the soldier had become lost and crossed the LoC 'inadvertently' and that civilians at the scene had seen him being questioned by the Indians. "We condemn such an inhuman and brutal act of killing our soldier after he had identified himself and explained his position," a spokesman said. He said that when Director General Military Operations (DGMOs) of two countries spoke on the hotline this morning, Indian DGMO revealed that Sepoy Ikhlaq had been killed by their troops. "This is not the first such event. We have returned Indian soldiers in the past, who had similarly strayed." End.
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