NEW DELHI: Indian security forces launched an investigation on Sunday into a drone strike which police said was a “terror attack” on the country's air force base in Kashmir.
Two explosive-laden drones hit and damaged the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu city on Sunday morning. Media reports said the explosions were so loud they could be heard over one kilometer away.
Jammu and the surrounding areas have been put on high alert.
“The attack at the IAF station in Jammu is a terror attack,” Jammu and Kashmir Police director general Dilbag Singh told reporters, as India's counterterrorism agency started searching the site.
“Police have registered an FIR (First Information Report) and (the) investigation is on,” Singh said. “Use of drones with payload in both the blasts at Jammu airfield suspected to drop the explosive material.” The drones were operated from a site near the scene of the attack, he added.
“Two low-intensity explosions were reported early Sunday morning in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station," the IAF tweeted. “One caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. There was no damage to any equipment. Investigation is in progress along with civil agencies.”
While early media reports suggested that two IAF personnel were injured, Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Col. Devender Anand told reporters in Jammu there were no casualties.
“There is no injury to any personnel or any damage to any equipment,” he said. “Investigation is on and further details are awaited.”
The Jammu airbase is a dual-use facility under IAF control. It also operates passenger flights.
“Jammu is not a big air base, it has only helicopters,” former Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak told Arab News. “It is located just 15 kilometers away from the Line of Control that divides India and Pakistan. The possibility is that somebody from our side, maybe a person from across, but he has come over and launched his drones from Indian territory. There is an uncertainty, fluidity in Kashmir today, whether that has caused the drone attack I cannot say right now.”
