5 Pakistani Jets Down, Over 50 Drones Hit: What Happened On Thursday Night (May 8-9)?
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on May 8-9, marked by cross-border military actions involving drones and missiles. India reported neutralising Pakistani attacks aimed at military sites in Jammu and Pathankot, while successfully thwarting infiltration attempts by suspected terrorists. In retaliation, India targeted Pakistani military infrastructure and claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16.
India shoots down Pakistan's AWACS aircraft and three fighter jets amid escalating cross-border tensions.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply on the night of Thursday, May 8 and into the early hours of Friday, May 9, following a series of cross-border military engagements involving drones and missiles. India announced that it had "neutralised" Pakistani drone and missile attacks targeting multiple military installations, including sites in Jammu and Pathankot on Thursday night. This came after Indian forces successfully thwarted similar attempts at 15 locations across the northern and western regions of the country, as tensions between the two nations intensified, raising concerns of a wider conflict.
Amid rising tensions, the Border Security Force successfully foiled a major infiltration attempt by suspected terrorists along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district.
Pakistan's Missile and Drone Attacks
Pakistan launched a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan. Explosions were reported in Jammu, including areas such as RS Pura, Arnia, Samba, and Hiranagar as well as in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. Indian air defenCe systems, including the S-400 missile system, successfully intercepted these threats, preventing casualties and damage to military assets.
Meanwhile, sirens and numerous explosions were reported in Akhnoor, Samba, Baramulla and Kupwara and several other places as the Indian military carried out a massive night aerial vigil along the border with Pakistan.
India's Counter-Offensive
In response, India conducted retaliatory strikes targeting Pakistani military infrastructure including air defense systems in Lahore. Indian forces claimed to have shot down Pakistani F-16 fighter jets and JF-17 Thunder jets that took off from the Sargodha air base. Additionally, India reported neutralising attempts by Pakistan to target military stations in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles.
India thwarted the attack and neutralised over 50 Pakistani drones on Thursday night, sources said. The drones were shot down in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, including Udhampur, Samba, Jammu, Akhnoor, Nagrota, and Pathankot.
On Thursday night, when Pakistan made failed attempts to send swarm drones all across various places along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Borders (IB), over 50 drones were successfully neutralised during a large-scale counter-drone operation conducted by Indian Army Air Defence units in the areas of Udhampur, Samba, Jammu, Akhnoor, Nagrota, and Pathankot areas, sources said
Civilian Measures and Blackouts
Authorities in border districts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir imposed night-time blackouts and issued red alerts. Residents were instructed to switch off lights and remain indoors to minimise visibility to potential aerial threats. Hospitals were placed on high alert and emergency shelters were established to accommodate civilians in affected areas.
The Indian Ministry of Defence stated: "Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot & Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the International Border in J&K today. The threats were swiftly neutralised using kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities in line with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). No casualties or material losses were reported."
"India remains fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and ensure the safety of its people," it added.
What Happened So Far
India conducted precision strikes on nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 at 1:00 AM, targeting terror infrastructure along the border. In response to India's anti-terror operation, Pakistan launched an offensive on the night of May 7-8, attempting to strike several military targets across northern and western India. However, India’s air defence systems successfully intercepted and neutralised these attacks by by targeting Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The escalation from Pakistan came after India's Operation Sindoor that targeted terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the early hours of Wednesday. This uncalled-for provocation by the neighbouring nation comes even as India has maintained that the strikes by Indian forces were targetted at terrorists and terror camps and that no military facility or civilians were targetted during Operation Sindoor.
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