India claims 7 Pakistani military posts destroyed in latest Kashmir flare-up

Seven Pakistani military outposts across Kashmir’s Line of Control were destroyed as retaliation for recent cross-border shelling, Indian officials have said. Pakistan confirmed three of its soldiers were killed in the fighting.

The attack on Pakistani military positions comes a day after three people were reportedly killed and two dozen others were injured by Pakistani shelling targeting forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC). India claims it neutralized seven military posts in Rakhchikri and Rawalakote, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan acknowledged on Tuesday that three soldiers were killed by “unprovoked fire” from the Indian side. The agency claimed that Pakistan’s army had “responded effectively” to the attack and had inflicted casualties, but did not provide further details.

The incident marks a flare-up in cross-border violence, after several weeks of comparative calm along the LoC. Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals reached a boiling point after a suicide attack killed 40 Indian troops in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir in February.

India blamed an Islamist terrorist group based in Pakistan for the attack and swiftly launched a cross-border air raid against the insurgents.

The operation sparked a brief air battle between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi claiming it had shot down a Pakistani aircraft, while also admitting to losing one of its Mig-21 fighters. Tensions cooled after Pakistan released an Indian pilot who had been captured during the skirmish.

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