Heavy shelling by Indian troops from across the Line of Control (LoC) claimed the life of a teenage boy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday, pushing the death toll in ceasefire violations in the territory to at least 14 in the ongoing year, local officials said.

“Indian forces resorted to heavy mortar shelling at about 8:30am and, as usual, they are targeting the civilian population,” Waleed Anwar, assistant commissioner of AJK's Nakyal sector told Dawn by telephone.

He said a mortar shell struck a house in Dharoti Naari village at about 9am, causing the death of a 13-year-old boy, identified as Zian Ibrahim.

Anwar feared that there might be more casualties because the shelling had not stopped.

On February 23, a 48-year old man was killed and three others were injured in the same (Dharoti Naari) village while another man was injured elsewhere in Nakyal sector.

According to the AJK State Disaster Management Authority, the latest casualty has pushed the toll to 14 in the ongoing year, whereas another 61 have been wounded in cross-border firing and shelling.