India neutralises Pakistani drone, missile attacks; targets air defence systems in 15 cities

Pakistan attempts late last night and early this morning to escalate tension with India by targeting military installations in 15 cities in the northern and western parts of the country – including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Gujarat – have been negated, the Indian government said Thursday.

The government said Indian forces responded by targeting and neutralising Pakistani Air Defence Radars and systems in several locations, including Lahore, in response to Pakistan attempts to attack military facilities in Srinagar, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and other locations. Indian forces’ response, the government underlined this afternoon, was “in the same domain (and) with the same intensity” as the attacks launched by Pakistan.

Pak forces used drones and missiles that were disabled by India’s air defence systems. Sources told news agencies in India that Harpy drones were used by India to destroy Pak air defences, while India then used the Russian-made S-400 defence system to shoot down missiles aimed at its cities.

Debris from the destroyed drones and missiles is being collected, the government said, and will add to the volume of evidence supporting India’s charges that Pakistan supports cross-border terrorism targeting India, whether by financial funding or military training.

Attempted military action against India comes a day after Indian armed forces’ carried out precision strikes at four terrorist camps in Pak and five in Pak-occupied Kashmir, or PoK. Operation Sindoor, as the strikes were codenamed, spanned a 25-minute period that began Wednesday morning at 1.05 am and included a barrage of 24 munitions – from HAMMER smart bombs to SCALP missiles – that destroyed terrorist groups’ HQs and training camps.

Over 100 terrorists were killed in the strikes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh disclosed Op Sindoor was in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Four terrorists from The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, killed 26 people, many of whom were civilians, at the Baisaran Valley, a tourist hotspot less than 70 km from J&K capital Srinagar. In a press briefing Wednesday afternoon the Indian Army and Air Force said Sindoor targets had been chosen based on credible intelligence, and that its action was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory”.

The armed forces also pointed out Pak military establishments were not targeted. The targets chosen included Muridke in Pak’s Punjab province, which housed Lashkar’s HQ and a training camp. The HQ and training camp of another terrorist group – Jaish-e-Mohammed, which was involved in the 2019 Pulwama attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers – was also razed. Pakistan then was also put on notice; that any attack on Indian military targets will lead to further strikes. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that warning this morning at an all-party briefing, telling opposition leaders Operation Sindoor is “ongoing” based on Pak’s actions.

The government, meanwhile, has also pointed out that Pakistan has steadily increased the intensity of cross-border firing and shelling, beginning within 24 hours after the Pahalgam attack. Mortars and heavy calibre artillery shells are now being fired across the border in the Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri sectors, the government said. So far 16 civilians have been killed, including three women and five children.

One Indian soldier has also died, the government said, as it also underlined, again, the Indian military’s commitment to non-escalation provided this is also respected by the Pak Army. Pakistani military says 25 Indian drones intercepted

The Pakistan’s army’s media department, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said “so far, 25 drones have been shot down by the Pakistani military,” using technical equipment and weapons.  “Pakistan forces are giving a befitting reply to the enemy and are destroying all its intentions,” the statement concludes.