Jammu, 31 October (H.S.): A rusted mortar shell was safely defused near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Saturday, officials said.

The unexploded shell was spotted near a forward post in the Sawjian sector around 9.50 am, following which the Army cordoned off the area as a precautionary measure, the officials said.

The shell, believed to have been fired by the Pakistani Army during cross-border shelling, failed to explode on impact and remained at the site as unexploded ordnance, officials said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar