Army personnel destroyed unexploded mortar shells at village Balakote in Poonch on Saturday

JAMMU: A 120-mm mortar shell, fired by Pakistani forces, was destroyed by the Indian Army in a forward village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.

The shell had landed near a house in the Balakot area of Mendhar sector during cross-border shelling on Saturday and was noticed by some villagers, who informed the Army, the officials said.

They said Army experts immediately rushed to the spot and destroyed the unexploded shell safely.

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages at several places, including Balakot, on Saturday, prompting strong and effective retaliation from the Indian Army.