February 5, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 3,1423

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MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 4: A man and his young daughter were killed and six others of the same family wounded in Indian shelling in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Monday night, raising the day’s death toll to four in two days, officials said on Tuesday.

The late night killings occurred in Forward Kahuta sector in the southern Bagh district during intense shelling by Indian troops from across the Line of Control, a police officer told Dawn.

“The shelling continued for more than an hour and the enemy troops, using machine-guns, mortars and medium artillery, targeted the civilian populations,” he said.

A mortar shell landed on a house in Digwar village, killing Mohammad Riaz, 35, son of Shah Mohammad and his 12-year-old daughter, Shahnaz, on the spot.

The victim’s 63-year-old father, identified as Shah Mohammad; brother Alaf Deen, 30; wife, Hakim Bibi, 35; sons Naeem, 8, Jamal, 6 and daughter Atra Bibi, 1, were critically wounded and admitted to a local hospital,” the officer said, adding that their house was also completely destroyed.

A military spokesman told Dawn that Indian troops resumed shelling in Forward Kahuta sector early on Tuesday morning, forcing Pakistani troops to respond.

“We retaliated with full force and destroyed two of their bunkers and killed or wounded six (Indian) soldiers,” the spokesman said.

Early on Monday, two people were killed and four others were wounded in the Forward Kahuta’s neighbouring Chirikot sector in district Poonch in Indian shelling; two others were injured in Neelum valley in the northeast of Muzaffarabad.

Pakistan army had claimed to have destroyed at least seven Indian bunkers across Chirikot sector besides killing two Indian soldiers in Monday’s retaliatory fire.

The police officer said that on Tuesday Indian shelling was also reported from Leepa and Neelum valleys in Muzaffarabad, Nakyal sector in district Kotli and Hajira sector in district Poonch, but there were no more casualties.