Pakistani and Indian forces Friday waged their biggest artillery battle in several months on their disputed Kashmir frontier, that left at least six dead and many wounded on the Indian side.

Provoked by India, five clashes -- involving shelling and gunfire -- were reported along the 740-kilometre (460-mile) long unofficial border that has separated the nuclear-armed rivals for the past seven decades.

The new peak in tensions came only five days after three Indian troops and three freedom fighters were killed in exchange along the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan army thrashed India all along the border and silenced their guns.

Three Indian soldiers were killed and three wounded in the Keran sector of the frontier. Kashmir police said three civilians were killed and at least three suffered serious injuries, with one man losing both legs. Inhabitants of several villages were moved away because of the fighting.

Pakistan retaliated strongly causing substantial damage to the Indian army's infrastructure and casualties.

On Pakistan side, a civilian was martyred and three others including two women sustained injuries in Indian troops blatant violation of the Line of Control.

According to a tweet posted by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General, the Indian army targeted the civilian population in Rakhchikri and Khanjar Sectors along the Line of Control. As usual, the Indian soldiers targeted the civilian population with rockets and mortars in Tari Band and Samahni villages near the LoC in Azad Kashmir.

As a result of the unprovoked Indian firing, one citizen embraced shahadat while three other civilians including two women got injured, the ISPR DG said.

#NellumValley has also become a top trend on Twitter with people around the globe condemning Indian blatant aggression against innocent civilians.

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The two sides regularly stage artillery duels across the LoC and invariably blame each other for the clashes.

Kashmir has been divided between the two countries since their angry separation in 1947. It has been a cause of two of their three wars since then.

Both countries claim the whole of the Himalayan region, where India is also fighting an insurgency that has left tens of thousands dead since 1989.