A swarm of drones targeted high-profile installations in Kashmir, including Srinagar airport and the Awantipora airbase on Friday night, marking Pakistan’s first attempt to extend its UAV forays to the Valley.
The attacks coincided with similar attempts across 26 locations ranging from Baramulla in Kashmir to Bhuj in Gujarat. There were drone incursions in Jammu city as well as Rajouri and Katra, all of which had been “effectively repulsed”, officials said.
Three persons were injured when debris from a Pakistani drone fell on a house in Punjab’s Ferozepur, police said.
Reports of multiple explosions near Srinagar airport, the Awantipora airbase in Pulwama and vital installations in Baramulla suggested the army was neutralising the drones.
Earlier, flashes in the sky signalled a third wave of drone attacks on an edgy Jammu city since Thursday night while sirens blared in parts of Srinagar, triggering fears of another scary night in the twin capitals of Jammuand Kashmir.
Officials confirmed drone sightings also in Pathankot, Punjab, and said they were being engaged.
The Army said the attacks across 26 locations by “suspected armed drones posed potential threats to civilian and military targets”.
The locations also include Awantipora, Nagrota, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala.
“Regrettably, an armed drone targeted a civilian area in Ferozpur, resulting in severe injuries to members of a local family. The injured have been provided medical assistance and the area has been sanitised by security forces,” the army said.
Ferozepur senior superintendent of police Bhupinder Singh said the crashing projectile from a Pakistani drone, destroyed by the army air defence system, landed on a house at Khai Pheme Ke village, setting it on fire.
Lakhwinder Singh, his wife and his brother Monu Singh were identified as those injured. Lakhwinder is said to be critical.
“The armed forces are maintaining a high state of alert, and all such aerial threats are being tracked and engaged using counter-drone systems. The situation is under close and constant watch, and prompt action is being taken wherever necessary,” the army said.
“Citizens, especially in border areas, are advised to remain indoors, limit unnecessary movement, and strictly follow safety instructions issued by local authorities. While there is no need for panic, heightened vigilance and precaution are essential,” it added.
Two killed
Heavy Pakistani shelling throughout Thursday night and Friday in both the Kashmir and Jammu regions killed a man and a woman.
Nargis Bashir, 38, of Rajarwani in Uri — apparently killed while fleeing the shelling in a car — became the first civilian casualty in Pakistani firing in the Kashmir region since the Pahalgam attack. Three of her family members were injured.
Mohammad Abrar was killed and three others, including his wife, were injured in the Loran area of Poonch. The district has lost 14 civilians, including children, to Pakistani shelling so far since Pahalgam.
The shelling prompted fresh migrations from border areas for the third consecutive day, with people leaving for safer areas in hordes.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah, who is camping in Jammu, said late in the evening that the city was under a blackout. “Sirens can be heard across the city,” he said on X, posting a picture showing lights flashing in the sky.
“Intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery, can now be heard from here.”
Omar issued an appeal: “It’s my earnest appeal to everyone in & 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 & we will get through.”
Pakistan had, after Thursday night’s barrage, launched its second drone attack on Jammu city before dawn on Friday but this was neutralised by India’s air defence system. Late in the afternoon, the Jammu deputy commissioner asked people to “stay alert and vigilant”.
While there were visible signs of panic till morning, the situation appeared largely normal during the day in the city.
Omar had earlier on Friday said the second drone attack on Jammu had taken place around 4.30am. He spoke of an attempt to hit an ammunition depot in Anantnag, Kashmir.
“What happened last night, around 9pm and then at 4.30am, it is obvious Pakistan was escalating. They will suffer most in such an escalation. They should use (their) brains and de-escalate,” Omar had told reporters in Jammu during a visit to meet border migrants.
He faced criticism for failing to visit Poonch, which has recorded the highest casualties.
“The way they targeted civilians, the way they carried out a drone attack in Jammu, I think Jammu city has been targeted for the first time after the 1971 war,” Omar said.
“But credit goes to our defence forces; they neutralised the drones. Not one drone reached the target.”
The relentless Pakistani shelling targeted security camps in Kupwara and Poonch but the damage, if any, could not be ascertained.
Apart from killing Nargis, cross-border shelling injured four others in the Uri sector of Baramulla on Friday morning, sources said.
“The woman (Nargis) and her family had boarded a vehicle to flee the area. While she died, three other family members were injured,” the source said.
The death toll from the Pakistani shelling in Jammu and Kashmir since Wednesday is now 18.
Sources said some 50 structures were damaged in the Baramulla and Kupwara districts. Explosions were heard in Baramulla town.
Pakistani shells landed in several villages in Kupwara including Chowkibal, Panzgam, Soonthipora, Dolipora, Batpora, and Rawathpora, forcing residents indoors.
The BSF claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid in Samba at 11pm on Thursday. Media reports from Delhi quoted a BSF spokesperson as saying that seven militants were killed.
But the BSF’s official X handle mentioned no casualties. No evidence of the recovery of militants’ bodies was offered, either.