Srinagar: Indian air defence systems Friday evening engaged Pakistani drones attempting to mount an aerial assault on a military installation in Kashmir’s Awantipora. Multiple eyewitnesses told ThePrint over the phone that they heard explosion-like sounds, in what could be Indian air defence systems engaging incoming enemy drones.
“Around 9:30 in the evening, we heard loud blasts. We got scared and stayed indoors,” a resident of Wakharwan village told ThePrint.
Later in the day, Indian air defence systems for the second night in a row engaged Pakistani drones targeting military facilities in northern and western India.
All air traffic to and from the airport in Srinagar remains suspended in light of a fresh flare-up between India and Pakistan that followed Indian armed forces hitting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on the night of 6/7 May in an operation codenamed ‘Sindoor’. During a press briefing Friday, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army said Pakistan dispatched “300-400 drones” to as many as 36 locations across India’s northern and western sectors on the night of 8/9 May.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in the same briefing said India responded “proportionately” and “adequately” to Pakistan’s actions.
On attacks thwarted by Indian air defences Friday, defence officials said drones were sighted at 26 locations along the international border and LoC, from Baramulla in J&K to Bhuj in Gujarat. Citizens in border areas in northern and western sectors are advised to remain indoors and restrict unnecessary movement for the time being, added officials.
This is a developing story
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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