A suspected Pakistani drone attack was foiled by the Indian air defence system in parts of Jammu on Thursday evening. Explosions were also heard in some areas of Punjab, a day after India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Islamabad.
There were unconfirmed reports of explosions near the Jammu airport.
Following the incident in Jammu, explosions were also reported in parts of Punjab, along with Pakistani shelling in Pathankot and several sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, including Samba.
According to a media report,
- The suspected drone attack led to air raid sirens and a total blackout in parts of Jammu and Punjab, as per the information available at the time of writing this report at 9 pm.
According to Reuters and other credible sources, Jammu and Punjab towns where suspected drone explosions were heard on Thursday evening are:
- Akhnoor
- Samba
- Kathua
- Army cantonment Ratnuchak
- Baramulla also locals heard two explosions
- Hoshiarpur
- Pathankot
- Blackout in parts of Punjab: Shortly after Hoshiarpur administration declared an immediate blackout on Thursday evening after explosions were heard, Amritsar also followed suit. Deputy commissioner Aashika Jain said the black out has been observed on the directions received from Air Froce authorities. “The black out will continue till further orders,” said DC Jain.
Missile debris was reportedly recovered from Kumahi Devi village near Talwara in Hoshiarpur.
India Hits Pakistan’s Air Defence System:
In a pre-dawn operation on Thursday, India targeted Pakistan’s air defence systems in response to a series of drone and missile attacks launched by Pakistan against Indian military installations the previous night.
The Ministry of Defence issued a detailed statement outlining the reasons behind the fresh strikes and reiterated India’s commitment to a non-escalatory approach.