India tests intermediate-range missile

India has successfully tested an advanced version of its nuclear-capable, intermediate range Agni missile.

The most powerful weapon in its missile arsenal was launched from an island off the eastern coast, news reports said.

The test came as hundreds of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers, ballistic missiles, fighter jets and tanks face each other across the border in the biggest military stand-off in decades.

The missile test had been planned for months, well before the border tension that followed a militant attack on India's Parliament on December 13.

New Delhi blames that on Pakistan-based groups. Pakistan has denied involvement, but banned the groups afterwards.

Agni-II soared into the sky over the Bay of Bengal from Wheeler's Island off the coast of Orissa state, Press Trust of India said, quoting unidentified sources.

The testing site is located 50 miles from a coastal facility where the Defence Research and Development Organisation tests much of its modern weaponry.

The earlier version of the Agni has a range of 1,500 miles. Agni means "fire" in Hindi, India's national language.

The country's missile arsenal includes army and air force versions of the short-range ballistic missile Prithvi; the Trishul, a surface-to-air missile that targets aircraft and can counter sea-skimming missiles; and the anti-tank Nag missile.

India, which conducted five nuclear tests in 1998, is currently perfecting its missile delivery system.