Fresh drones spotted in Srinagar and Awantipora airbases, brought down by India

On Friday night, Indian defense forces successfully thwarted an attempted drone attack on the Srinagar airport and the Awantipora air base in south Kashmir. The drones, believed to have been launched from across the border, were engaged and brought down by Indian security forces, preventing any potential damage. These attacks came just a day after India successfully repelled a similar assault involving drones and missiles targeting military installations in Jammu and Kashmir.

In addition to the airbases, drones were sighted in several parts of north Kashmir, including Baramulla district. Indian forces responded swiftly, shooting down drones over the region, with reports indicating that the sky was lit up by the interception efforts. Defense officials confirmed that countermeasures were put in place to neutralize these aerial threats. The situation escalated further as blasts were heard in the Jammu region and south Kashmir, accompanied by sirens. Several areas in these regions also experienced power outages, heightening the emergency response.

Drone sightings were also reported in Jammu, Samba, and the Pathankot district in Punjab, with the Indian military remaining on high alert and engaging the drones. In Srinagar, mosque loudspeakers were used to advise locals to switch off their lights as a precautionary measure in light of the heightened security threat. Similar engagements took place in Udhampur and Nagrota, with defense forces continuing their efforts to secure vital installations in the region. So far, 12 drones were spotted in Gujarat as well.

The heightened security comes in the aftermath of India's precision strikes on terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Wednesday. These strikes were a direct response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. The retaliatory strikes have further intensified the tensions between the two nations, leading to an increase in military activity along the border.