Officer killed as Kashmir shelling resumes

Shelling and small-arms fire killed an army officer and wounded three civilians along the Kashmir border ahead of a visit today by the US defence secretary aimed at defusing tensions between India and Pakistan, an Indian army spokesman said.

Although the South Asian nuclear rivals have been making conciliatory gestures to ease back from their war footing, a million soldiers still line their disputed Himalayan frontier and both countries acknowledge the threat of war remains.