A 60-year-old woman was killed and another was critically injured on Wednesday in alleged cross-border firing in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Hindustan Times reported. No army personnel were injured in the exchange of fire.

“There was ceasefire violation by Pakistan around 2.35 am, in which an old woman was killed and another injured in Lanjote area of Mendhar,” Poonch Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Kumar told the newspaper. “They were hit by Pakistani mortar fire.”

Unidentified local residents from the village told the Greater Kashmir that the two women were trying to shift their cattle from an open verandah to a shed when a mortar shell struck the structure. Block Medical Officer Mendhar Parvez Khan said that Resham Bi was killed on the spot while another woman, identified as Hakam Bi, was injured.

Hakam Bi was first taken to a nearby local facility but was later shifted to a sub district hospital in Mendhar. From there, she was referred to a hospital in Rajouri because of her critical injuries. “The intensity of shelling was heavy and we had to rush around eight ambulances in the area in the early morning hours to ensure timely shifting of all the casualties,” Khan added.

Defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said that Pakistan initiated the “unprovoked ceasefire violation” by firing with small arms and then resorted to intense shelling along the Line of Control in Balakote and Mendhar sectors. “Indian Army retaliated befittingly,” he added. “The firing stopped at about 2.45 am.”