Two airports targeted In 24 hours: First Jammu, then Srinagar
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday night repelled 300 to 400 drones launched by Pakistan across the entire western front to target military and civilian establishments and then undertook a swift counter-strike against four air defence sites, even as deadly artillery duels led to soldiers being killed on both sides.
The Pakistani attack resumed on Friday night, with drones once again being spotted in 26 locations in a wide arc, ranging from Srinagar, Baramulla and Awantipora in the north to Bhuj in the south, along both the international border and the Line of Control with Pakistan.
Operation Sindoor
PM Modi meets NSA, chiefs of armed forces amid spike in tensions with Pak
India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan
Several airports in India to be closed till May 15 - check list
The locations targeted included
Srinagar airport
, Avantipora air base, Baramulla, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala.
"These included armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets," an officer said.
The attack on Srinagar airport followed one on Jammu the previous night.
While the armed forces neutralised the bulk of the drones with a variety of air defence weapons, an armed drone targeted a civilian area in Ferozpur, resulting in severe injuries to members of a family.
On Thursday, the intrusion by drones, mainly Turkish but some also from China, came in three waves at 36 locations across the LoC and IB, stretching from Leh to Sir Creek, between 8pm and midnight.
Pakistan also used an armed UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to target Bathinda military station, headquarters of the Army's 10 'Chetak Corps'. The UAV was swiftly detected and neutralised by Indian air defence systems.
"These provocative and escalatory actions taken by Pakistan last night were targeted at Indian cities and civilian infrastructure, in addition to some military targets. The Indian armed forces responded proportionately, adequately and responsibly," foreign secretary Vikram Misri said at a briefing.
The counter-strike saw four Israeli-origin Harop and Harpy armed drones being launched once again by the IAF against four air defence sites in Pakistan. "One of our drones was able to destroy an air defence radar," Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said.
Indian air defence units, which are plugged into the IAF's fully-automated integrated air command and control system (IACCS) network, destroyed 50 of the Pakistani drones using L-70 anti-aircraft guns, ZU-23 twin-barrel guns and other weapons.
Another 20 drones were brought down after being jammed by a variety of devices, while the rest flew back across the border.
With some of the drones being unarmed, Wing Commander Singh said, "The possible purpose of these large-scale aerial intrusions was to test our air defence systems and gather intelligence."
Pak used Turkiye-built armed drones in strikes across LoC
Preliminary forensic analysis of some drone debris showed they were Asisguard Songar drones of Turkey, she said. Equipped with both daylight and infrared cameras, the
Turkish drones
have an operational range of 10 km and can be configured for various missions ranging from area surveillance to target detection and destruction.
Turkiye has deep ties with Pakistan and has repeatedly endorsed Islamabad's position on Kashmir.
Along the 778-km LoC, Pakistan also carried out heavy artillery shelling and used armed drones in Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur areas in Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday night.
Around 20 ceasefire violations were recorded, 13 south of the Pir Panjal range and seven north of it. In the heavy exchange of fire, at least one Indian soldier was killed and another 10 injured. Two civilian deaths were also reported from the Uri sector. "Pakistan army also suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory fire," Colonel Sofia Qureshi said.
The shadowboxing between the rival navies also continued in the northern Arabian Sea, with both issuing 'NavArea' warnings for ships to stay away from specified coordinates due to firing exercises by their warships. India's drills will take place till May 13, while Pakistan's will finish a day earlier.
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