Srinagar/Jammu/New Delhi: Drone attacks on Srinagar airport and south Kashmir’s Awantipora air base were thwarted late on Friday, officials said.
The attempted attack came a day after India thwarted attempts by the Pakistan military to attack Indian military installations using drones and missiles.
Drones were also sighted in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said, adding that countermeasures had been initiated.
The sky was lit up in Baramulla district as the Indian military shot down Pakistani drones.
Earlier in the evening, blasts were heard and sirens sounded in the Jammu region and south Kashmir as many parts of Jammu and Kashmir plunged into darkness, officials said.
Defence officials said drones were also sighted in Jammu, Samba and neighbouring Pathankot district in Punjab and they were being engaged.
The officials said drones were also engaged in Udhampur and Nagrota of Jammu and Punjab.
Blasts were heard and sirens sounded in the Jammu region as the city plunged into darkness for a second consecutive night on Friday, officials said.
They said drones were also sighted in Jammu, Samba and neighbouring Pathankot district in Punjab and they were being engaged.
The blasts come amid ongoing shelling by Pakistan following India’s strike on terror hideouts in the country earlier this week as part of Operation Sindoor.
“Intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery, can now be heard from where I am,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.
He also posted a picture of the city in darkness, captioning the post as, “Blackout in Jammu now. Sirens can be heard across the city.”
He said in another post, “It’s my earnest appeal to everyone in and around Jammu please stay off the streets, stay at home or at the nearest place you can comfortably stay at for the next few hours. Ignore rumours, don’t spread unsubstantiated or unverified stories and we will get through this together.”
On Thursday evening, Indian air defence units successfully intercepted at least eight missiles fired by Pakistan towards the border areas of Jammu, including the strategically important Jammu airport, defence sources had said.
Drawing a parallel to the tactics of the Palestinian Hamas group, the sources said all “cheap” rockets directed at the Jammu region were successfully intercepted and neutralised by air defence units.
The missiles were aimed at key locations, including Satwari (Jammu airport), Samba, RS Pura, and Arnia.
A sudden power outage had plunged Jammu city into darkness following two loud explosions, likely resulting from the interception of the intruding drones. Immediately after, sirens echoed throughout the city, alerting residents to seek shelter.
The aerial objects had attempted to strike the strategic Jammu airport and its surrounding areas, which house army, air force, and paramilitary installations.
Sounds of blasts rattled Jammu city early Friday morning, triggering an immediate blackout, hours after India thwarted Pakistan military’s attempts to target military installations in border areas.
Activity of loitering munitions was witnessed in the skies.
The blast sounds were heard between 3:50 am and 4:45 am following sounding of sirens. Security forces neutralised the threat, officials said.
Videos showed flying objects in the skies and blasts taking place as the threats were neutralised.
Overnight ceasefire violations were also reported as Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts and Indian troops retaliated.
In a post on X, the Jammu deputy commissioner urged residents to stay calm.
All schools, colleges and universities have been closed in the region in the wake of the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Government of India (GoI) has empowered the Army Chief to call out “every officer and every enrolled person” of the Territorial Army (TA) to provide for essential guard or to be embodied to support or supplement the regular Army.
The move comes in the wake of the ongoing military conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Ministry of Defence’s Department of Military Affairs issued a notification dated May 6 which says, “This order shall remain in force for three years with effect from 10 Feb 2025 to 09 Feb 2028”.
The TA, raised on October 9, 1949, completed 75 years last year and has served the nation in times of war, and in humanitarian and environmental protection works through its eventful journey over the decades.
It is fully integrated with the regular Army. In recognition of nation-building efforts and contributions made during war or conflicts, numerous individuals have been honoured with gallantry as well as distinguished service awards in the TA.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 33 of the Territorial Army Rule 1948, the Central Government empowers Chief of the Army Staff to exercise the powers under that rule to call out every officer and every enrolled person of the Territorial Army to provide for essential guard or to be embodied for the purpose of supporting or supplementing the regular army,” reads the notification.
The government notification also said, “out of the existing 32 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army), embodiment of 14 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army) for deployment in the areas of Southern Command, Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, South Western Command, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Army Training Command (ARTRAC)”.
The embodiment shall be ordered provided the funds are available in the budget or have been made available by re-appropriation of the internal savings in the budget, it added.
“For units embodied at the behest of Ministries other than the Ministry of Defence, the cost will be debited to the respective Ministries and will not be included in the budget allocation of the Ministry of Defence,” the notification said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday carried out a comprehensive review of the national security scenario with the top military leadership, a day after Pakistan’s attempts to target Indian military installations were repelled.
Every aspect of the evolving security situation was discussed in the meeting, it is learnt.
Infiltration bid foiled along Pak border in Jammu; 7 terrorists killed: BSF
The Border Security Force on Friday said it has foiled an infiltration bid from across the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu, killing at least seven terrorists and destroying a Rangers post.
The terrorists were engaged around 11 pm on Thursday in Samba district after a “big group” of terrorists was detected by the “surveillance grid”.
This infiltration bid was supported by fire from Pakistan Rangers post Dhandhar, a BSF spokesperson said.
He said the troops neutralised the infiltration bid, killing “at least” seven terrorists and causing “extensive” damage to the Dhandhar post.
Officials said there could be more terrorists, who could have been neutralised.
The BSF also shared a thermal imager clip of the firing and “destruction” of a bunker of the said post where a heavy machine gun of the Rangers was mounted.
The force is on high alert in the wake of the current hostilities between the two countries following the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 and India’s strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation.(PTI)
