India, Pakistan troops trade gunfire again

Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged gunfire in disputed Kashmir for a fifth straight night, New Delhi's army said yesterday, one week since an attack targeting tourists sent relations into a tailspin.

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The Indian army said its soldiers and Pakistani forces fired at each other overnight along the Line of Control, the de facto border in contested Kashmir, a heavily-fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.

There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan.

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing the deadliest attack in years on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 men were killed.

Islamabad has rejected the charge, and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.