Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India]: In a swift response to Pakistan’s cross-border attacks on 26 Indian locations on Saturday, India launched retaliatory strikes, according to defence sources speaking to media.
Exchange of fire is ongoing at multiple locations along the Line of Control (LoC), with reports of intermittent shelling.
In Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, a loud explosion was heard in the Dibber area, followed by visible plumes of smoke. Meanwhile, in the Rajouri region, several houses and properties sustained damage due to a series of continuous blasts. Loud explosions were also reported from Rajouri and Akhnoor.
This escalation follows sightings of Pakistani drones in the Jammu, Samba, and Pathankot sectors on Friday, a day after Indian air defences intercepted an earlier attempt to target civilian infrastructure along the LoC and the International Border.
India had previously responded to the initial aggression by conducting precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). These operations were carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives.
In the wake of that attack, the Indian Armed Forces initiated ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday. The mission targeted and destroyed nine terrorist camps situated in Pakistan and PoJK.
Additionally, during the night of May 7–8, Indian forces successfully intercepted and neutralised Pakistan’s attempts to launch a large-scale drone and missile attack aimed at multiple Indian military installations across Northern and Western India. In the process, an air defence system in Lahore was also neutralised.
Pakistan’s continued escalation is being met with firm and strategic countermeasures by the Indian Defence Forces to safeguard national security and civilian life.