An Army jawan was killed on Monday by Pakistani troops who opened fire and threw mortar shells at areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The firing and shelling were reported along the LoC in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector and Rajouri's Nowshera sector, and along the IB in Kathua district.

An Army jawan, guarding a forward post, was critically injured in the Nowshera sector and succumbed to his injuries later.

He is the fourth Army personnel to be killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch this month. Two soldiers were killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district on June 4 and 10, while another soldier fell to cross-border firing in Poonch on June 14.

There has been a rise in Pakistani shelling along the border this year with over 2,027 cases of violation of a ceasefire agreement till June 10.

Earlier, a defence spokesman said, "At about 0330 hours today, Pak army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms and intense shelling with mortars along LoC in Krishnagati sector in Poonch district," a defense spokesman said.