Two riflemen were killed in “unprovoked and indiscriminate firing” by Pakistan on Monday evening, Defence Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said. Pakistani troops allegedly violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, the Hindustan Times reported.

Soldiers Vinod Singh, 24, and Jaki Sharma, 30, were seriously injured in the firing. They succumbed to injuries in a hospital, the spokesperson said. Both of them hailed from Jammu and Kashmir, The Indian Express reported. Singh was from Danapur village near Akhnoor town, while Sharma from Hiranagar’s Sanhail village in Kathua district.

Pakistani troops had begun to fire small arms, automatics and mortars around 5.15 pm in Rajouri district’s Sunderbani Sector. The defence spokesperson said the Indian Army gave “a befitting reply”.

“Rifleman Vinod Singh and Rifleman Jaki Sharma were brave and sincere soldiers,” he said. “The nation will always remain indebted to the brave hearts for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty.”