- Saturday, May 04, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
A DAY after a drone attack two bombs exploding at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station at Jammu airport, the Indian army has thwarted a fresh attempt to attack a military installation with drones.
A defence spokesperson said alert troops fired at two drones that were found hovering over the Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military area along the Jammu-Pathankot highway on the intervening night of June 27 and 28.
One drone was spotted around 11.45 pm on Sunday while another was found at 2.40 am on Monday, according to the officials. Both drones “flew away” after the sentries fired at them.
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Jammu-based Army PRO Lt Col Devender Anand said in a statement that a high alert was raised immediately after the objects were found and Quick Reaction Teams engaged them with firing.
“Both drones flew away. A major threat was thwarted by the alertness and proactive approach of troops,” he said, adding the security forces were on high alert and a search operation is in progress.
Earlier, official sources said the sentries had opened fire on seeing the drones to bring them down. They said the whole area outside the military station was cordoned off immediately and a massive search operation was launched.
The latest incident comes barely a day after a drone dropped two bombs at the IAF station in Jammu, leaving two personnel minorly injured.
Arms-carrying drone was found in May
While it was said that the attack was a first-of-its-kind on an Indian military installation, The Indian Express quoted sources in the security establishment saying that they have tracked many instances of drones dropping weapons, drugs and explosives in Jammu and the northern state of Punjab over the last two-three years, including one in May.
On May 14, the Border Security Force found weapons dropped by a suspected drone from Pakistan in Jammu, the Express report added. Personnel carried out a search operation later in the Samba sector and recovered arms, including an AK-47 rifle, and ammunition wrapped in yellow polythene from a field.
