India Repels Drone Attacks At 26 Sites From Baramulla To Bhuj; Islamabad Used Civilian Planes As 'Shield': Govt

India on Friday night repelled fresh drone attacks from Pakistan at 26 locations in the country's north and west including Srinagar airport, as it accused Islamabad of using its civilian planes as a “shield” for its aerial strikes endangering their flights.

As Pakistan targeted several cities for the third consecutive night, this time from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Bhuj in Gujarat, the government said Islamabad had launched between 300 and 400 Turkish drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek in its failed attempt to target Indian military installations on Thursday night.

"Drones have been sighted at 26 locations ranging from Baramulla in the north to Bhuj in the south, along both the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan," military officials said. The drone strikes in locations that included airports and airbases have been successfully thwarted, they added.

Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and LoC with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj,…

— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) May 9, 2025

Besides Baramulla, Srinagar and Bhuj, the locations included Awantipora, 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, officials said.

Drone attacks on Srinagar airport and Awantipora air base were thwarted late on Friday, while blasts were heard in Jammu and parts of the south Kashmir region, defence officials said in Srinagar.

It was a second straight night of darkness and fear for locals of several border districts as sirens wailed upon spotting of aerial threats from Pakistan that were effectively engaged by the armed forces.

From Srinagar and Jammu to Punjab's multiple districts and Jaisalmer and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, a vast stretch of the border areas plunged into darkness with public announcements made, urging people to switch off their lights as a precautionary measure.

Heavy cross-border shelling was also underway along the International Border in Suchetgarh and Ramgarh sectors of Jammu and Samba districts.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Pakistan’s strike on places of worship and its "preposterous" attempts to put the blame on Indian armed forces is reflective of Islamabad's evil design and efforts to deceive and mislead the world.

Citing Pakistan's attack on a gurdwara in Amritsar and its subsequent attempt to blame it on Indian armed forces, Misri said Islamabad's thinking that India would attack its own cities is the kind of "deranged fantasy" that only the Pakistani state can come up with.

BREAKING: Army statement says drone threats tonight at 26 locations from Baramulla to Bhuj along IB/LoC. Armed drone hit Ferozpur, injuring civilians. Forces are on high alert. Citizens in border areas advised to stay indoors and remain vigilant. pic.twitter.com/wLgOfyaVDO

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) May 9, 2025

The Border Security Force(BSF), meanwhile, said it has foiled an infiltration bid from across the Indo-Pak International Border in Jammu on Thursday night, killing at least seven terrorists and destroying a Rangers post.

This infiltration bid was supported by fire from Pakistan Rangers post Dhandhar, a BSF spokesperson said.

Two more people were killed after Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling in areas near the Line of Control (LoC) in J and K, officials said. With this, the death toll due to shelling from across the LoC in the recent days rose to 18.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with the top defence establishment to take stock of the security situation.

Modi met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to strategise over the future course of action. Earlier in the day, he held interactions with veterans, including former chiefs of the three services, taking their feedback on the current situation.

At a media briefing, Misri slammed Pakistan's provocative and escalatory actions to try and target Indian cities and civilian infrastructure using drones last night.

Most drones were downed using kinetic and non-kinetic means, said Col Sofiya Qureshi of the Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force(IAF) at the briefing.

The remarks came amid intensified military action between India and Pakistan following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor' early Wednesday in a powerful retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre on April 22. Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the carnage.

#WATCH | Punjab | A complete blackout has been enforced in Firozpur, and sirens and explosions can be heard.

(Visuals deferred by an unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/VqsKb4clxX

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025

The two military officials said Pakistan used its civilian airliners as a "shield" as it did not close its civil airspace during its attempts to attack Indian installations with drones and missiles on May 7, knowing fully well that the strikes would elicit a swift response from India.

"On the night of May 8-9, Pakistan carried out large-scale violations of Indian airspace, attempting to target military infrastructure with 300-400 drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek," said Singh.

"Indian forces neutralised many drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. An armed UAV strike on Bhatinda was also thwarted," she said.

Singh said the "possible" purpose of the large-scale Pakistani intrusions were to test the air defence systems and gather intelligence.

"Forensic examination of the drone debris is being undertaken. Preliminary reports suggest them to be Asisguard Songar drone of Turkey," she said.

"Pakistan escalated with artillery and drone attacks across the Line of Control, causing casualties. Alarmingly, Pakistan kept its civil airspace open during the assault, endangering civilian flights," she added.

In response to the Pakistani attack, Indian military launched armed drones launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan.

"One of the drones was able to destroy an air defence radar," Singh said.

She said Pakistan also carried out artillery shelling across the LoC using heavy calibre artillery guns and armed drones at Kandhan, Uri, Poonch, Mender, Rajouri, Akur and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir area which resulted in some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel.

"Pakistan Army also suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory firing.

"Additionally, Pakistan's irresponsible behaviour again came to the fore as Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite it launching a failed unprovoked drone and missile attack on May 7," said Qureshi.

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

The official also showed screenshots of flight movement on the website flightradar24.

"In the high air defence alert situation in the Punjab sector, the airspace on the Indian side is absolutely devoid of civil air traffic due to our declared closure. However, there are civil airlines flying the air route between Karachi and Lahore," she said.

India deployed Barak-8 missiles, S-400 Triumph air defence systems, Akash surface-to-air missiles and indigenously developed anti-drone equipment in thwarting Pakistan's attempts to hit 15 Indian cities on Wednesday night, official sources said.

As states in northern and western India kept a tight vigil in the wake of the military conflict with Pakistan, Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the prevailing situation along India's border with Pakistan and airports in the country.

In a communication to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards Vivek Srivastava said preparing the civil administration and adopting precautionary measures against hostile attacks in the states and Union territories are governed by the Civil Defence Act and Rules, 1968

The Centre also empowered the Army Chief to call out "every officer and every enrolled person" of the Territorial Army (TA) to provide for essential guard or to be embodied to support or supplement the regular Army.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)