'Toy' bomb kills teenager in Kashmir: police

Muzaffarabad

 An explosive device resembling a toy has killed one teenager and wounded another in Pakistani-administered Kashmir close to the border with India, police said Friday.

 The boys were herding cattle in Neelum Valley, near the Line of Control, the de facto border in disputed Kashmir on Thursday when they hit a "toy bomb" police said.

 "A 13-year-old boy was killed and another was wounded when they hit a toy bomb left in the grazing area by unknown people," local police station chief Manzoor Hussain told AFP.

 Local government official Abdul Hameed Kayani confirmed the incident and casualty.

 In February, two children were killed after picking up an explosive device that they thought was a toy.

 Unexploded ordnance is often found in the border areas of Kashmir, as India and Pakistan regularly trade artillery fire.

 Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two countries won independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the scenic Himalayan territory in full.

 The nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought two wars over Kashmir, have traded blame for the upsurge in firing and shelling in recent months.

 On Tuesday four civilians were killed during heavy exchanges of fire by Indian and Pakistani troops across their border in southern Kashmir.