Indian, Pakistani soldiers engage in cross-border firing

NEW DELHI -- Indian and Pakistani border troops were involved in cross-border firing on Thursday, India's 73rd Independence Day, and claimed casualties on each other's sides.

Indian Army sources said that Indian troops killed as many as three Pakistani security personnel in cross-border firing. They claimed that Pakistani troops were involved in ceasefire violations.

In a tweet, spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces Major General Asif Ghafoor confirmed three soldiers died on the Pakistani side. He also claimed that in the firing as many as five Indian soldiers were also killed.

An army statement from the Pakistani side said the Indian army has increased firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in its "efforts to divert attention from precarious situation" in the Indian-controlled Kashmir.

However, the Indian Army denied the Pakistani claim of five casualties and damages on the Indian side due to Pakistani firing, Indian media reported.

The Times of India daily quoted a senior Indian Army official as saying "the claim made by Pakistan's military is fictitious."