SRINAGAR: India foiled a major Pakistani drone attack targeting the Srinagar airport and Awantipora airfield in south Kashmir on Friday evening.
In addition to these locations, drones have been sighted at 26 locations ranging the Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the South, along both the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets, according to an army statement.
The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala.
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.
This comes after Pakistan resumed shelling along the Line of Control.
There were also reports of drones being engaged in Samba, Pathankot and Jammu amidst a blackout in Jammu and Baramulla.
According to the army statement, the armed forces are maintaining a high state of alert and all aerial threats are being tracked and engaged using counter-drone systems. The situation is under close watch and necessary action is being taken wherever necessary, the statement added.
Citizens in border areas have also been urged to stay indoors, avoid unnecessary movement, and follow safety instructions, with authorities stressing vigilance and no need for panic.
Heavy shelling was also reported in Uri. A woman identified as Nargis Begum had been killed when a Pakistani shell hit a vehicle near Mohura in Uri on Thursday.
CM Omar Abdullah, who is in Jammu, tweeted that, "intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery, can now be heard from where I am."
Omar also made an earnest appeal "to everyone in and 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 and we will get through this together," the CM appealed.
An uneasy calm had prevailed on Friday in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and other parts of the Valley following major escalation in India-Pakistan tension by Thursday night's (May 8, 2025) failed missile and drone attacks by Pakistan army in Jammu.
In a major escalation, Pakistani forces had launched coordinated drone and missile attacks targeting civilian areas and military installations in Jammu on Thursday night. The Indian air defence systems responded swiftly, successfully intercepting and neutralising all eight missiles and multiple drones aimed at key targets, including the Jammu airport.
300 to 400 Turkish drones with civilian planes as cover to hit 36 sites, some of them religious centres. This was how Pakistan violated Indian airspace on the night of 8–9 May, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Armed Forces had said in their briefing on Friday.
Drone attacks in Pokhran foiled
For a second night of grave anxiety on the Rajasthan border, Pakistan launched a drone attack on Pokhran on Friday night.
Though loud sounds of explosions were heard and flashes of light were seen in the sky, sources say the Indian air defence system intercepted and neutralised the Pakistani drone. While the Indian forces have foiled the attack, a red alert has been issued in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Sri Ganganagar districts, and residents have been urged to stay indoors.