- JAMMU, India (Reuters) - Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy mortar
and machine gun fire across their tense border in the disputed Kashmir
region on Saturday, a defense spokesman said.
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- He said there were casualties from the
fighting which occurred as India marked the anniversary of its founding
as a republic, but he could not give a figure.
-
- "The fresh clashes came as India
celebrated the anniversary of its birth as a republic peacefully with heavily
armed security forces on the streets to prevent any violence at a time
of tension with its nuclear neighbor,'' he said.
-
- "In a bid to infiltrate men and
material from their (Pakistani) posts (into India), Pakistani troops resorted
to mortar and machine gun fire on our defense positions near the line of
control in Akhnoor sector on Saturday.
-
- "Our troops also retaliated with
fire effectively and inflicted some casualties on their troops,'' the spokesman
said.
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- Akhnoor is 35 km northwest of Jammu,
the winter capital of the restive Himalayan state.
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- India has demanded Islamabad crush Pakistan-based
Kashmir militants, whom New Delhi blames for an attack on its parliament
last month.
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- It has also linked them to this week's
attack on a U.S. cultural office in Calcutta.
-
- The annual January 26 celebrations marking
India's founding as a republic soon after independence from Britain in
1947 have often been marred by violence in Kashmir and the northeast.
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