One Killed as Mortar Shell Hits Mosque in Jammu and Kashmir, India Blames Pakistan - Report

The Indian Army claimed that Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Poonch district after it shelled the Shahpur and Kerni sectors.

According to police reports, one mortar hit a mosque compound in in Poonch district  killing one person and injuring three.

After the incident police launched a search operation at Kunaiyan in Poonch and found a terrorist hideout.

"During the search operation, a terrorist hideout was busted and a cache of arms and ammunition seized," Poonch Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ramesh Angral said, as quoted by the India Today.

Tensions increased in August 2019 when Indian President Ram Nath Kovind signed a decree revoking Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which had ensured the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir state for decades. Under the government’s new initiative, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories that are under New Delhi's control, provoking a sharp reaction from Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have contended for the Kashmir region — the southern part of which lies in India's Jammu and Kashmir state — since the end of British rule in 1947. Despite a ceasefire reached in 2003 after several armed conflicts, instability in the region continued, leading to the emergence of various extremist groups.