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Mohammed Waheed was fast asleep at his home in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the early hoursyesterday morning when a huge blast shook his home.
“Before we could even process what was happening, more missiles struck, causing widespread panic and chaos,” he told the BBC, adding that he had jumped out of bed and run outside along with his family and neighbours.
“Children were crying, women were running around, trying to find safety.”
Mr Waheed lives in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir – it is one of at least three places that were hit by Indian missile strikes.
The Indian military said it carried out the strikes in response to a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.
It has blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for the attacks, accusing Islamabad of tacitly supporting them – a charge Pakistan has consistently denied.
The BBC spoke to witnesses in both Indian and Pakistan administered Kashmir who described the strikes by India as well as the aftermath of shelling by Pakistan.
Pakistan said eight civilians were killed and 35 others injured as a result of the strikes this morning, according to Islamabad.
India’s army has also said that at least seven civilians have been killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border between both countries.
Ruby Kaur, who lived in India’s Poonch district along the LoC has been identified as one of the Indians who has been killed.
Her uncle, Buava Singh, told the BBC that a mortar shell struck near Ms Kaur’s house around 1.45 am, killing her on the spot and injuring her daughter.
“Her husband was not keeping well. She woke up to make tea for him when the mortar shell landed close to her house,” he said.
He added that the heavy shelling on Wednesday morning was something “we have never seen so far”. Singh says that there were no community bunkers in the area, which meant residents were forced to take shelter in their homes.
“The shrapnel hit her head. She was bleeding heavily. We rushed her to a nearby hospital, but she was declared dead,” Mr Singh said.
Another resident from Poonch said they heard “loud explosions for hours”.
“It was a panicky situation across the city and other areas close to the Line of Control (LoC),” Dr Zamrood Mughal said over phone.
“People couldn’t sleep the entire night. People abandoned their homes and ran for safer places. A shell hit the main town near the forest office and damaged the nearby structure.” – BBC.
Online Reporter