Intense shelling along LoC, Govt says Pak sent 400 Turkish drones to attack 36 locations

The government said a preliminary probe suggested that Pakistan sent Turkish Songar armed drones. In response, Indian armed drones were launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan.

“One of the drones was able to destroy an air defence radar (of Pakistan),” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a media briefing which was also addressed by Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Pakistan also resorted to intense artillery shelling, targeting the areas of Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur in J&K.

This resulted in “some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel”, the officials said. In Uri, a woman was killed and four civilians were injured in artillery fire – the most intense in recent years – that damaged a large number of houses.

Officials said Nargis Bashir was killed when the vehicle she was travelling in was hit by a Pakistani shell. Her family said she had boarded the vehicle to flee from Razarwani village in Uri which was being shelled by Pakistani forces.

Wing Commander Singh said that on the intervening night of May 8-9, “Pakistan military carried out multiple violations of Indian airspace along the entire western border with an intent to target military infrastructure. The Pakistan military also resorted to firing of heavy caliber weapons along the Line of Control.”

“Along the International Border and Line of Control, drone intrusions were attempted from Siachen to Sir Creek at 36 locations with approximately 300 to 400 drones. Indian armed forces brought down a number of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means,” she said. Kinetic options refer to use of missiles and other weapon systems, and non-kinetic to measures like jammers and anti-drone nets.

“The possible purpose of these large-scale area intrusions were to test the air defence systems and gather intelligence. Forensic examination of the drone debris is being undertaken. Preliminary reports assert them to be of Asisguard’s Songar drone of Turkey,” she said.

Later in the night, an armed Pakistani UAV attempted to target an Indian military station which, she said, was “detected and neutralised”.

“In response to the Pakistani attack, armed drones were launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan. One of the drones was able to destroy an air defence radar,” she said.

Colonel Qureshi said, “Pakistan also carried out artillery shelling across the LoC using heavy caliber artillery guns and armed drones at Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel.”

She said the Pakistan Army also “suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory fire”.

Both Wing Commander Singh and Colonel Qureshi flagged Pakistan’s “irresponsible behaviour”: “Pakistan did not close its civilian airspace, despite it launching a failed, unprovoked drone and missile attack”.

They said “Pakistan is using civil airliners as a shield, knowing fully well that its attack on India would elicit swift air defence response. This is not safe for the unsuspecting civil airliners, including the international flights which were flying near the International Boundary between India and Pakistan.”

They showed a screenshot of a civilian airline to make the point and said “Indian Air Force demonstrated considerable restraint in its response, thus ensuring safety of international civil carriers”.

Foreign Secretary Misri slammed Pakistan for its “official and blatantly farcical denial of the attacks” it has carried out, an “example of its duplicity”.

Rejecting Pakistan’s claim that it did not target or attack religious places, Misri said that it is “extremely regrettable and condemnable”.

He said during heavy shelling across the LoC, shells fired from Pakistan landed just behind the Christ School. A shell hit the home of two students who lost their lives and left their parents severely injured, he said.

“Another Pakistani shell struck a Christian convent of nuns belonging to the congregation… destroying solar panel infrastructure. Several priests, nuns, school staff and local residents took refuge in an underground hall beneath the Christ School during the shelling by Pakistan. The school happened to be closed at the time… otherwise, more losses would have occurred again. We have seen the Pakistani side targeting and shelling places of worship with a particular design. This includes gurdwaras, these convents and temples. This is a new low, even for Pakistan,” he said.

Misri also rejected the Pakistani claim that India had attacked Nankana Sahib Gurdwara and called it “preposterous and outrageous”, and said it was Pakistan which had attacked the gurdwara in Poonch — some local members of the Sikh community, including the ragi of the gurdwara, lost their lives in the incident.

He said that due to the current situation, the Indian government had decided to suspend the Kartarpur corridor.

In Uri, while Nargis Bashir was killed instantly and her three family members injured when a Pakistani shell hit their vehicle in Mohurra, another civilian was injured when a shell struck Thajal village.

Officials said mortars and artillery shells from Pakistan landed as far as Mohura, Gingal and Rampur. Residents said they were now seeing shelling in areas they once thought were safe. In Gingal, at least 10 houses were damaged.

A resident said artillery fire from Pakistan started at 11 pm Thursday and continued unabated until 4 am Friday. “We have not seen such intense fire from across the border in many decades,” a resident said.

In the Tangdhar sector, officials said Pakistani shells landed deep inside Kupwara. An official said Pakistani mortars and artillery shells fell across the Sadhna Pass in Manzgam, Kralpora, Chowkibal, and Dollipora. Dollipora village is less than 10 km away from Kupwara town.

Officials said several houses were damaged in the artillery fire, though there was no report of any loss of life in the district.

Cross-border shelling was also reported from other sectors in the Valley, including Nowgam. Officials said the Indian Army responded to Pakistani shelling “proportionately and in equal measure”.

According to officials, more than 60,000 civilians have moved from the border areas to safer places. They said that while some have taken shelter with their relatives, many have moved to government-designated shelter houses.

On Thursday night, power was cut off across the Valley to enforce a blackout as a precautionary measure after Jammu city was hit by Pakistani missiles and drones. While power was restored in Srinagar late Thursday, it was restored Friday morning in the other parts of the Valley.

The J&K government announced that schools would remain closed on Friday and Saturday across the Union Territory as a precautionary measure. “Monday is anyway a holiday. We will review the decision on Monday afternoon. The situation at the time will determine if the closure is extended or not and if extended, for how long,” the Chief Minister’s office said in a post on X.