Family members of a boy, who was killed by Indian shelling, mourn next his casket at a village in Hatian Bala, 40 kilometers from Muzafarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at some civilians and wounding few others, officials said. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)

Family members of a boy, who was killed by Indian shelling, mourn next his casket at a village in Hatian Bala, 40 kilometers from Muzafarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at some civilians and wounding few others, officials said. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian and Pakistani soldiers have again targeted each other’s posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said Saturday.

But in a sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals could soon ease, a Pakistani Cabinet minister said a key train service between Pakistan and neighboring India would resume on Monday.

Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan this past Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture.

Fighting resumed overnight Friday. Pakistan’s military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed countries over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety.

Indian police, meanwhile, said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The children’s father was critically wounded.

In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons “indiscriminately targeted border villagers” along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling.

Following a lull lasting a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line.

Since tensions escalated following last month’s suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday that Russia had offered to serve as a mediator to ease tensions. He said Pakistan was ready to accept the offer, but he did not know whether India would agree as well.

Qureshi also said a top Saudi diplomat would soon visit Pakistan and India. Pakistani officials said China is expected to send an envoy to Pakistan and India this coming week.

The current violence marks the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan’s military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board.

The latest wave of tensions began after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a Kashmiri militant on Indian paramilitary forces. India has long accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the suicide attack.

Pakistan’s minister for railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told reporters Saturday that the Samjhauta Express train service linking the Pakistani city of Lahore with the Indian border town of Atari would resume on Monday. The service was suspended by Pakistani authorities this past week.

Thousands of people on both sides of Kashmir have fled to government-run temporary shelters or relatives’ homes in safer areas to escape shelling along the frontier, which is marked by razor wire, watch towers and bunkers amid tangled bushes, forests and fields of rice and corn.

“These battles are fought on our bodies, in our homes and fields, and we still don’t have anything in our hands. We are at the mercy of these soldiers,” said Mohammed Akram, a resident in the Mendhar area in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Sakina, a young woman who fled to a shelter with her two children, said the frequent shelling had made them “homeless in our own land.”

In Pakistani-administered Kashmir, many displaced families urged the international community to help resolve the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully.

“Whenever India fires mortars, it’s we who suffer,” said Mohammad Latif, a laborer who took refuge at a government building that was vacated for sheltering displaced families.

“I don’t care whether the Indian pilot is gone or not, I don’t care who released him and why, but I want to know whether peace will return to us after his return to India,” said Mohammad Sadiq, a shopkeeper who also was among the displaced. He said the latest tensions between Pakistan and India rose so suddenly that some people sold their sheep, cows and buffaloes at throwaway prices in his native Chikothi town.

“We did not know whether we will get any shelter and how could we take our animals” with us, he said.

Meanwhile, Indian police said two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials were killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

___

Mughal reported from Muzafarabad, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report. </s> Pakistani doctors at a hospital in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, treat a villager injured during an attack on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan — Indian troops fired on a Pakistani passenger bus in Kashmir on Wednesday, killing 10 civilians in one of the deadliest incidents in weeks of violence in the disputed Himalayan region, stoking tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the shelling "naked aggression," and the government summoned an Indian diplomat to lodge a protest. The Pakistani army contacted its Indian counterpart over a crisis hotline, saying "we reserve the right to respond at the place and time of our choosing."

The Pakistani military said it had already fired back at Indian positions, killing seven soldiers, but there was no word on casualties from the Indian side. Indian army spokesman Col. Nitin Joshi said an intense exchange of fire was underway.

Kashmir is split between Indian and Pakistani areas of control and claimed in its entirety by both countries. The South Asian rivals fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, and it remains one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Waheed Khan, a Pakistani police official in the region, said the Indian shelling also hit villages near the Line of Control separating the two sides, killing another two civilians and causing others to flee. At least three Pakistani soldiers were also killed, the military said, adding that Indian troops had fired on an ambulance.

The latest exchange of fire came a day after the mutilated body of an Indian soldier was found in Kashmir. The Indian military did not say whether the soldier was killed by Pakistani soldiers or Kashmiri rebels, who have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

"Retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act," Col. Rajesh Kalia, another Indian army spokesman, said after Tuesday's attack.

Tensions have soared in Kashmir since militants attacked an Indian army base there in September, killing at least 17 soldiers. India said the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. The two sides have traded blame for the cross-border fire and have accused each other of violating a 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir.

Last week, the Pakistani army claimed to have shot down a small Indian drone in Kashmir, a day after the navy said it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the country's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, contributed. </s> Indian and Pakistani soldiers have targeted each other’s posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said.

Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a 14 February suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet on Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture.

Fighting resumed overnight on Friday. Pakistan’s military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbours over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety.

Indian police said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The children’s father was critically wounded.

In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons “indiscriminately targeted border villagers” along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling.

Following a lull of a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed on Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarised line.

Officials from both countries blamed each other for “unprovoked” violations of the 2003 ceasefire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier, targeting army posts as well as villages.

Since tensions escalated following last month’s suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947.

The current violence marks the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan’s military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir. That year an Indian fighter jet shot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. </s> Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said Saturday.

Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture.

Fighting resumed overnight Friday. Pakistan's military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbors over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety.

Indian police said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The children's father was critically wounded.

In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons "indiscriminately targeted border villagers" along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling.

Following a lull of a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line.

Officials from both countries blamed each other for "unprovoked" violations of the 2003 cease-fire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier, targeting army posts as well as villages.

Since tensions escalated following last month's suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947.

The current violence marks the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board.

The latest wave of tensions began after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a Kashmiri militant on Indian paramilitary forces. India has long accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has said it was not involved in that attack and that it was ready to help New Delhi in the investigation.

On both sides of Kashmir, thousands of people have fled to government-run temporary shelters or relatives' homes in safer areas to escape deadly and relentless shelling along the frontier. Many of these villages dot the rugged and mountainous frontier, which is marked by razor wire, watch towers and bunkers amid tangled bushes, forests and fields of rice and corn.

"These battles are fought on our bodies, in our homes and fields, and we still don't have anything in our hands. We are at the mercy of these soldiers," said Mohammed Akram, a resident in the Mendhar area in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Sakina, a young woman who fled to a shelter with her two children, said the frequent shelling had made them "homeless in our own land."

In Pakistani-administered Kashmir, many displaced families urged the international community to help resolve the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully.

"Whenever India fires mortars, it's we who suffer," said Mohammad Latif, a laborer who took refuge at a government building that was vacated for sheltering displaced families.

"I don't care whether the Indian pilot is gone or not, I don't care who released him and why, but I want to know whether peace will return to us after his return to India," said Mohammad Sadiq, a shopkeeper who also was among the displaced. He said the latest tensions between Pakistan and India rose so suddenly that some people sold their sheep, cows and buffaloes at throwaway prices in his native Chikothi town.

"We did not know whether we will get any shelter and how could we take our animals" with us, he said.

People living along the Line of Control keep bunkers near their homes, but residents say they cannot spend day and night in them.

Meanwhile, Indian police said two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials were killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

Mughal reported from Muzafarabad, Pakistan. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report. </s> SRINAGAR, India (AP) — The Latest on the tensions between India and Pakistan (all times local):

Pakistan's military says two of its soldiers have been killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between the rivals.

It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbors over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety.

Pakistan's army said in a statement Saturday that the soldiers were killed in the Nakiyal region of Kashmir in the past 24 hours. It said there were reports of troop casualties on the Indian side.

Since overnight Friday, a total of at least six civilians have been killed on both sides of Kashmir.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Indian police say two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials have been killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests.

Police said Saturday that the fighting began Thursday night in a forested area in the northwestern Handwara area after Indian troops surrounded the area on a tip that militants were hiding there.

Since then, fighting has been on and off. In addition to the fatalities, at least eight soldiers and police have been wounded.

Police said a young man was killed Friday when government forces fired at anti-India protesters who threw stones while trying to reach the site of the fighting. Several people were also injured in the clashes.

The fighting comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan that have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Pakistan's military says Indian troops have fired across the Line of Control into the Pakistan-controlled portion of the disputed region of Kashmir, killing two civilians and wounding two others.

The casualties Saturday bring to six the number of people killed on both sides of Kashmir since overnight Friday.

Pakistan's military said in a statement that its troops "gave a befitting response by targeting Indian posts."

The Indian army said Pakistani soldiers attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line later Saturday.

The latest exchange of fire between the nuclear-armed rivals came a day after Pakistan released an Indian pilot to defuse tensions. Pakistan arrested the pilot this past week after shooting down two Indian planes in Kashmir, which is split between the countries but claimed in its entirety by both.

Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Hundreds of people who were forced to flee border villagers this week amid a dramatic escalation of hostilities between Pakistan and India have urged the international community to play its role in resolving the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully.

Mohammad Latif, a laborer who is taking refuge at a government building vacated for sheltering displaced families, says, "Whenever India fire mortars, it's we who suffer."

Parveez Kazmi, a woman whose married daughter lives in Indian Kashmir, was weeping on a road in Muzafarabad city. She cannot travel to Indian-controlled Kashmir because of recent suspension of a key bus service by New Delhi.

She says people living on both sides of Kashmir often miss funerals and weddings of their dear ones because of tension between Pakistan and India.

On Saturday, people in Pakistan's part of Kashmir continued fleeing border villages for safety amid a resumption of deadly shelling.

A Pakistani government official says Indian troops with heavy weapons have "indiscriminately targeted border villagers" along the two countries' Line of Control in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing a boy and wounding three others.

The official, Umar Azam, said Saturday that Pakistani troops are "befittingly" responding to the Indian fire.

He says several homes were destroyed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety. India said earlier that Pakistani fire killed two siblings and their mother on its side.

Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947.

Saturday's exchange of fire came a day after Pakistan handed over a captured Indian air force pilot to India as a "gesture of peace" to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors over the disputed Kashmir region.

Officials say two siblings and their mother have been killed in cross-border shelling between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir.

Indian police say the three died overnight after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops.

Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a MiG-21 fighter jet Wednesday and its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. </s> MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani officials say the death toll from shelling by India of a passenger bus and villages along the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir has risen to 11.

Waheed Khan, a local official, says an artillery shell hit the bus in the Neelum Valley on Wednesday, killing nine people.

Police official Waseem Khan says another two died when a mortar shell hit their house in the Nakyal sector of the Pakistani-held part of Kashmir.

Pakistani army says troops are firing back on Indian military positions.

An Indian army spokesman, Col. Nitin Joshi, says India was responding to Pakistan’s violation of a cease-fire.

Tensions in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and claimed by both in its entirety, have escalated recently with deadly exchanges.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Pakistan says shelling from India has targeted a passenger bus in the disputed region of Kashmir, killing four civilians and wounding seven.

A local official, Waheed Khan, says the civilians were killed when an Indian artillery shell hit the bus in the Neelum Valley on Wednesday.

The Pakistani army says troops are firing back on Indian military positions. There has been no immediate comment from India.

Pakistan and India have been trading fire recently in the Himalayan region, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and claimed by both in its entirety.

This week, at least 11 people were killed on both sides.

Tensions have intensified since militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September. India alleged the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. </s> SRINAGAR, India — An Indian paramilitary officer says a civilian and a soldier have been killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The officer said Pakistani soldiers fired mortars and automatic gunfire at several border posts in Jammu region on Friday in an "unprovoked" violation of the cease-fire accord between India and Pakistan in the contested region.

The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide information to the media.

A senior officer with India's Border Security Force, Arun Kumar, said border guards have killed 15 Pakistani soldiers in "retaliatory firing and shelling" since last week.

Troops from the two countries have regularly traded fire in recent weeks, causing casualties on both sides. </s> MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Residents near the disputed boundary in divided Kashmir say it was quiet overnight, the first lull since an escalation between Pakistan and India erupted last week.

Nazakat Hussain in Pakistani-held Kashmir says his and many other families are using the lull Sunday to leave their homes in Chakoti area.

Pakistani government official Moazzam Zafar says some 200 families have already taken shelter in three large government buildings in the territory.

At least eight civilians and two soldiers have been killed in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir since tensions soared following India's airstrike Tuesday inside Pakistan that New Delhi said targeted militants behind a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday.

A Pakistani Kashmiri carries his belonging and walks through a market at his hometown in Chakoti on the violent border that separates the Himalayan region of Kashmir between Pakistan and India, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at some civilians and wounding few others, officials said. b(AP Photo/Roshan Mughal)

Family members of a boy, who was killed by Indian shelling, mourn next his casket at a village in Hatian Bala, 40 kilometers from Muzafarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at some civilians and wounding few others, officials said. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal) </s> SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Two Indian soldiers have been killed in fighting with Pakistani soldiers and suspected militants along the volatile frontier in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Saturday.

An army officer said militants overnight ambushed an Indian army patrol, killing one, while Pakistani soldiers provided covering fire near Machil sector along the Line of Control dividing the disputed region between India and Pakistan.

The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media, said that militants crossed over from the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir while taking advantage of rugged terrain and thick foliage. He said Indian soldiers retaliated and killed an insurgent in what he described as “face-to-face combat.”

He said the militants “mutilated” the body of the Indian soldier before fleeing to the Pakistani side.

There was no independent confirmation of the incident.

In a strongly worded statement, the Indian army called the soldier’s mutilation a “despicable act.”

“This barbarism is a true reflection which pervades official and non-official organizations across the border,” the statement said. “This act will invite an appropriate response.”

Shortly after, cross-border clashes erupted at several posts in Machil sector, killing another Indian soldier.

In Pakistan, the military in a statement said that India on Saturday again resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control and that the soldiers from the two countries were still exchanging fire. It did not say Pakistan suffered any casualties.

Indian and Pakistani troops in recent weeks have frequently exchanged cross-border fire, causing casualties on both sides. Both have blamed each other for initiating it.

While the Line of Control is guarded by the Indian and Pakistani armies and divides the two parts of Kashmir, each country also has a separate paramilitary border force guarding the lower-altitude frontier separating Indian-controlled Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab.

Troops from the two countries have regularly traded fire since last month, when India said it carried out “surgical strikes” against militants in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Pakistan dismissed the claim and called on India to produce evidence to back it up.

On Thursday, each nation expelled a diplomat amid the escalating tensions.

Two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947 have been fought over their competing claims to Kashmir. Each has administered part of Kashmir since 1947. India accuses Pakistan of training and arming anti-Indian militants and helping infiltrate into the Indian side.

Pakistan denies this, saying it only offers moral and diplomatic support to the militants and to Kashmiris who oppose Indian rule.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
Indian and Pakistani soldiers target each other’s posts and villages in Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops.