Pakistani drone spotted again along border in Jammu

J&K police chief says LeT could be behind Sunday’s drone attack on IAF station

Days after an attack on the Jammu airbase, a suspected Pakistani drone was again spotted hovering near the international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Jabowal village in Arnia sector prompting Border Security Force (BSF) to open fire.

Sources said the drone was detected by the signal BSF staff in the Arnia sector in the Jammu district at about 4:25 am. “It was a quadcopter trying to cross the border to carry out surveillance. As soon as BSF personnel started shooting at it, the drone returned,” they said.

A BSF spokesperson while confirming the incident said alert troops fired at a small quadcopter belonging to Pakistan as it was trying to cross the IB in the Arnia sector. “Due to firing by the BSF troops, it returned immediately,” he added.

The latest intrusion comes days after the country witnessed the first-ever drone attack on its territory when two small UAVs dropped explosive devices on an Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Jammu causing damage to the roof of a building and minor injuries to two personnel.

A day after the explosives-laden drones crashed into the IAF station at Jammu airport, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were spotted at Kaluchak military station in Jammu during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Since then, drones have been spotted in different areas along the border almost daily. Sources told DH that a security high alert sounded across Jammu and Kashmir to thwart any possible attacks, has so far failed the strategy of militant outfits, “who at the behest of Pakistan army are trying to target security installations on Indian territory, with drones.”

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already taken over the probe into Sunday’s Jammu airport attack triggered by drones. The case was handed over to the elite counter-terrorism unit by the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday.

J&K police chief Dilbagh Singh on Friday said that the initial investigation suggests that Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit was involved in the drone blast at Jammu Air Force Station and “it seems that RDX was used for the blast.”

Terming the drone attacks as a big challenge, he said, “The drone used for the blast at the Air Force Station is likely to have operated from across the border.”

“The probe agencies are also looking into these aspects whether there was any local support. The explosion was very powerful,” the police chief added.