2 Indian soldiers killed by Pakistan army

Pakistani troops Tuesday killed two Indian soldiers near the tense disputed border in Kashmir, two military sources told AFP, two days after Islamabad said one of its soldiers was killed there. "There was an exchange of fire and two of our troops were killed and one injured," a senior Indian military commander in Kashmir told AFP, asking not to be named. A second source confirmed the deaths. TV stations, citing army sources, said an Indian patrol was ambushed by Pakistani soldiers inside Indian territory. The Indian army spokesman in Kashmir, R.K. Palta, declined to comment on the incident. Tuesday's deaths occurred in southern Kashmir's Mendhar sector, 173 kilometres (107 miles) west by road from Jammu, the commander said. On Sunday Pakistan said Indian troops crossed the de facto border known as the Line of Control and stormed a military post. It said one Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured. India denied crossing the border, saying it had retaliated with small arms fire after Pakistani mortars hit village homes. Pakistan lodged a formal protest with India on Monday over what it said was an unprovoked attack A ceasefire has been in place along the Line of Control since 2003 but it is periodically violated by both sides. Muslim-majority Kashmir is a Himalayan region which India and Pakistan both claim in full but rule in part. It was the cause of two of three wars fought since independence from Britain in 1947.