Pakistan claims shooting down Indian quadcopter

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan’s army on Wednesday claimed to have shot down an Indian quadcopter that "intruded" into its airspace.

In a statement, the military said that the quadcopter was shot down after it "intruded 500 meters inside Pakistan’s side” of the Line of Control (LoC) -- a de facto border that divides the disputed Himalayan valley between the two nuclear rivals.

This is the 11th Indian quadcopter shot down by Pakistan Army this year, the statement added.

There was no immediate word from the Indian side over the incident.

The incident coincides with escalating tensions between the two neighbors, particularly after New Delhi's scrapping of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir's longstanding semi-autonomous status August last year.

The picturesque Himalayan valley is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have been killed and tortured in the conflict that flared up in 1989.