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Indian soldier 'beheaded by Pakistan troops' as Kashmir dispute escalates
India accused Pakistan of a "grave provocation" on Tuesday night after the "ghastly" death of two of its soldiers at the hands of Pakistani troops in Kashmir, amid claims that one of them was beheaded. In the second clash in three days between soldiers from the nuclear-armed rivals, an Indian patrol found Pakistani troops about half a mile inside Indian territory, an army spokesman said. A firefight broke out and two Indian soldiers were killed. Indian army sources claimed that one of the soldiers was decapitated and his head taken away by retreating Pakistani troops. His body was found "badly mutilated" in a forested area of the Himalayan territory, said Rajesh K. Kalia, a spokesman for the Indian army's Northern Command. A spokesman for the Pakistan army denied that its forces launched an "unprovoked" attack and dismissed the claims as Indian propaganda. Salman Khurshid, India's minister for external affairs, described the incident as "unacceptable, ghastly" and "short-sighted" on the part of Pakistan. He said any response would be "proportionate". India's ministry of defence issued a statement denouncing the incident as a "provocative act" and said the government would take it up with Pakistan. Posted by: tipper 2013-01-08 |
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