Twin explosions at IAF station in Jammu airport terror attack: J&K DGP

The blasts took place within six minutes of each other

The "terror attack" using explosives-laden drones, a first-of-a-kind incident, at the IAF station at Jammu airport comes three days after the first engagement of the top Kashmiri leaders with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It also comes at a time when the ceasefire on the border with India and Pakistan has been enforced without any incident for the past few months following back-channel talks.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also on a visit to Ladakh while the Ministry of Home Affairs will be holding discussions with leaders from Kargil, which is part of the Union Territory of Ladakh, close on the lines of one Modi had with Kashmiri leaders.

There is no official word linking Modi's meeting with 14 Kashmiri leaders or Singh's visit to Ladakh to the drone attack.

While it was not immediately clear from where the drones had taken off, officials said they are investigating all angles, as the International Border with Pakistan is 14 km away.

Also read: Jammu explosions: Probe on, Rajnath speaks to IAF Vice Chief

The incident has also prompted the security establishment to step up security measures at airports as well as military and vital installations across the country.

Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh has made it clear that the crashing of the two explosive-laden drones at 1:37 AM and 1:43 AM into the IAF station on Sunday morning is a "terror attack".

A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reached the site while Intelligence Bureau and other security and intelligence agencies are roped in to collect further information.

Officials said this is the first time that drones have been used to target a facility though there have been fears about such attacks for a long time. They said India has been taking steps to strengthen its capability to thwart any such attacks.

Though this type of attack is happening for the first time, recent times have witnessed the dropping of weapons in Kashmir and Punjab by Pakistan-backed terror outfits.

In August 2019, police had recovered a drone from Mohawa village in Amritsar which was used for dropping weapons on this side of the border from Pakistan. The very next month saw eight drone sorties delivering arms, officials had said citing the questioning of suspected terrorists arrested in Punjab's Tarn Taran.

The BSF had also shot down a spy drone in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua in June last year while three months later, Jammu and Kashmir police arrested three suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who received weapons through drones.

In September last year, Jammu and Kashmir police also recovered weapons delivered using drones in Akhnoor sector.