Woman, three boys killed in Indian shelling.

Byline: Tariq Naqash

MUZAFFARABAD -- A woman and three young boys lost their lives and another person was injured in two areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday in Indian shelling from across the restive Line of Control (LoC), officials and residents said.

In Nakyal sector of Kotli district, Razeem Saleem, 21, his brother Tazeem Saleem, 18, and their cousin Ali Maroof, 14, were in the courtyard of a small mud structure for cattle in Datot village when the shell from across the divide exploded on a rock in front of them, said Sardar Umar Farooq, Assistant Commissioner of Nakyal, of which Datot is a part.

'The boys were busy holding and flying pigeons, unmindful of any aggression from across the LoC on an unusually calm day, when the shell landed near them,' he said, quoting some eyewitnesses.

As a result, Razeem and Tazeem died on the spot while Ali was injured seriously and was taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Nakyal. However, he succumbed to his wounds in the middle of the journey and was brought dead in the facility where people offered his funeral before sending the body back to his village, Mr Farooq said.

Their two oxen were also injured in the explosion, he added.

The unmarked dividing line lies at an aerial distance of hardly 200 metres from Datot and an Indian army post also exists there, but the assistant commissioner said the shell had been fired, reportedly from a 60MM mortar gun, from a rear location in Indian occupied territory.

Ibrar Alam, a local journalist, told Dawn that people were busy doing different chores as per daily routine when this incident occurred.

He said that since the shell exploded very...

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