Indian troops intercept another ‘drone’ attack on army base

SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD: India’s military said it intercepted two drones flying over an army base in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) early Monday, a day after suspected explosives-laden drones were used to attack an air base in the disputed region.

The military said troops around midnight spotted two drones separately flying over Kaluchak military base on the outskirts of Jammu city. “Immediately, high alert was sounded and Quick Reaction Teams engaged them with firing,” the military said in a statement. “Both the drones flew away.”

Troops launched search operations in the area, the statement said, adding that troops remained on high alert. On Sunday, Indian officials said two drones carrying explosives were used to attack an air base in Jammu city and called it the first such incident of its kind in India.

The air base in Jammu is also used as a civilian airport but there was no disruption to civilian flights. No rebel group has so far commented on the two incidents. Vijay Kumar, a senior police official in the region, said the incident posed a new threat for security agencies. “Certainty it is a big challenge but can be handled technologically,” he said.

While it is not clear who the drones were operated by in Sunday’s attack, security officials said they were unlikely to have been launched from across the Pakistan border some 14km away. An Indian security official said authorities suspected that quadcopters were likely used for the attack, and were trying to track their flight paths since the GPS locations might have been pre-entered.

The official said initial reports showed the devices had a crude delivery mechanism to deliver a small payload of explosives. Meanwhile, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), unidentified gunmen killed a Special Police Officer (SPO), his wife and daughter in Pulwama district.

The gunmen fired upon them at their residence in Hariparigam Awantipora area of the district on Sunday night. A senior police officer claimed that the attackers entered the residence of SPO namely Fayaz Ahmad and fired on him.

In the incident, SPO along with his wife and daughter received serious bullet injuries. While Fayaz died on the spot, his wife Raja Begum and daughter Rafiya succumbed to their injuries at GMC in Islamabad. The medical officer confirmed the death of women, Raja and Rafiya, KMS reported.

The Indian troops and paramilitary forces launched cordon and search operation in the area which was going on till last reports came in, today (Monday). Meanwhile, Indian forces launched cordon and search operations in different areas of Budgam district.