Jammu/New Delhi: It was not one drone but a pair of drones that managed to sneak in and out of the Air Force Station in Jammu last month after dropping two different types of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) minutes apart from each other, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the defence and security establishment also said that the attackers had planned two IED-based strikes in Jammu for the same day in what is believed to have been a “retaliation” for a blast outside the house of the 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Lahore.
Sources said they have now concluded that two drones were used during the attack, which was a first of its kind in India.
They said eyewitnesses at the air station heard the first and second drone coming in and moving out.
“However, no one saw the drone but heard it. One of the sentries saw something drop on the roof of a building which exploded immediately the moment it fell on the terrace. The humming sound of the drone in air was heard but could not be seen in the darkness as it did not have any light,” a source said.
The second IED was dropped minutes later as other personnel rushed in.
“There were two drones used in the attack. Both managed to fly in and out,” a second source said.
Sources also said that two attacks were planned for that day in Jammu but the recovery of five kg RDX a day prior spoilt the plan.
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Two different kinds of IEDs used
Sources also told ThePrint that two different kinds of IEDs were used by the attackers.
They said that the first IED fell on the terrace of the building and created a gaping hole in the roof. There was a person inside the room but he did not get injured.
“The first IED was a shaped charge one and it was meant to go through the surface over which it fell. The second IED, which fell about 20 metres from the first, had splinters in it to cause injuries,” one of the sources cited above said.
Route taken by the drone yet to be deciphered
The sources also said that it is not yet clear where the two unmanned aerial aircraft originated from.
They said that the highest probability is of the drones flying in from Pakistan.
Multiple teams have carried out extensive search of the area around the Air Force Station but there is no whisper or evidence of anyone having such kind of a drone or the expertise to pull off such an attack.
Another line of thought is that someone, either a resident of Kashmir or someone who infiltrated in from Pakistan, could have carried out the attack.
ThePrint had earlier reported that the design and make of the IEDs point to Pakistan Ordnance factories.
Also read: Jammu drone attack seen as an attempt to harm LoC ceasefire, disrupt Kashmir political process