Baramulla to Bhuj: Pak targets 26 sites across region

Hours after India announced that Pakistan had launched nearly 400 Turkish drones at 36 locations across northwest India, and fired artillery guns, resulting in the death of “some” soldiers over the past 24 hours, a fresh wave of UAV attacks was reported from several places across the region, including J&K and Punjab, leaving at least three injured.

The Army said drones were sighted at 26 locations — from Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the West — along the Line of Control as well as the International Border on Friday evening.

The areas targeted included Jammu, Samba, Pathankot, Udhampur, Nagrota, Baramulla, Srinagar, Awantipora, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Jaisalmer, Lalgarh Jattan, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuar Bet and Lakki Nala. Explosions were also heard in some parts of Kashmir and Pokhran in Rajasthan, a desert region where India had conducted nuclear tests. Drone attacks on the Srinagar airport and south Kashmir’s Awantipora airbase were thwarted, officials said.

The Army said the forces were maintaining a high alert, and all such aerial threats were being tracked and engaged using counter-drone systems.

Along the Line of Control, several ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army were reported. The Army said these threats were being responded to effectively.

Residents in these places reported seeing several drones hovering overhead and in some cases hearing the sound of explosions as well as anti-aircraft guns. Blackouts were enforced in many districts in north-west India as a precautionary measure and air raid warning sirens sounded at several places during the day.

In Amritsar, multiple drones were spotted in the Chheharta area and the road leading to the airport. In Ferozepur, where several drones were sighted, three persons were injured in a blast that hit their house at Khai Pheme Ke, the cause of which is not clear. They were admitted to a local hospital.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a briefing in New Delhi on the ongoing Operation Sindoor, said the armed forces responded “proportionately and adequately” to the aggression last night. He slammed Pakistan for “using civilian planes as shields” to fly close to the International Border and assailed it for attacking places of worship and its “preposterous” attempts to put the blame on the armed forces.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, speaking at the briefing, said India retaliated by launching armed drones at four air defence (AD) sites in Pakistan and “one of these destroyed an AD radar”.

“Pakistan also carried out firing across the Line of Control (LoC) using large-calibre artillery guns and armed drones directed at Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in some losses and injuries to Army personnel. The Pakistan army suffered major losses in retaliatory fire,” she said.

The officer said that a possible purpose of the large-scale aerial intrusions drones by Pakistan, using Turkish Songar drones, many of which were shot down, was to test the AD systems, gather intelligence and also to target military infrastructure.

Col Sofiya Qureshi flagged Islamabad’s “irresponsible” behaviour for using civil airlines as shields, knowing fully well that any attack on India would elicit a swift AD response. “This is not safe for the unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights, which were flying near borders between India and Pakistan,” she said. The IAF demonstrated “considerable restraint” in its response, thus ensuring the safety of international civil carrier, she added.

Top News