Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir), May 7 (ANI): Panic and fear gripped border villages in Rajouri district after unprovoked shelling from Pakistan late last night. Residents reported that they had to spend the night in bulletproof bunkers.

'They started firing at 2:45 AM. We were asleep when we suddenly heard the noise. Our children woke up, scared and worried. None of us had breakfast or tea,' said Yasir Iqbal, a resident of Niyakapani village.

'People are worried. Those fortunate enough to have found a bunker are inside, lying down. But they have no means to buy food,' he added.

Sarpanch Abdul Hussain from Neaqa village said the residents were exhausted and helpless. 'The firing last night left our people in great distress. The government provided bunkers,' he said.

'We've witnessed many wars - the 1965 and 1971 wars, the militancy from 1990 to 2008, and now this ongoing conflict. We are very tired and helpless,' he added. 'We urge that such wars be avoided. We need to sit down and talk so that our country and our people can survive.'

Three innocent civilians lost their lives after the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing, including artillery shelling, from across the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) opposite Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army said on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred during the night of May 6-7, when Pakistani forces indiscriminately opened fire on civilian areas. The Indian Army stated that it is responding in a 'proportionate manner' to the unprovoked aggression.

Earlier today, the Indian Armed Forces successfully struck nine terror targets using special precision munitions in a coordinated operation called Operation Sindoor, destroying four in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot, and five in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), sources told ANI.

'Operation Sindoor,' which targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir was in direct response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen and injured several others. (ANI)