India thwarts Pakistan's bid to attack Srinagar airport, say officials

Flight services have been suspended at major airports including Srinagar

Drone attacks on Srinagar airport and south Kashmir's Awantipora air base were thwarted late on Friday, officials said.

The attempted attack came a day after New Delhi thwarted attempts by the Pakistan military to attack Indian military installations using drones and missiles.

The Indian Armed Forces also successfully foiled attack attempts at Jammu airport on Thursday.

Drones were also sighted in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said, adding that countermeasures had been initiated. The sky was lit up in Baramulla district as the Indian military shot down Pakistani drones.

Earlier in the evening, blasts were heard and sirens sounded in the Jammu region and south Kashmir as many parts of Jammu and Kashmir plunged into darkness, officials said.

Defence officials said drones were also sighted in Jammu, Samba and neighbouring Pathankot district in Punjab and they were being engaged. In Srinagar, mosque loudspeakers were used to convey to locals to switch off their lights as a precautionary measure.

Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X, "Intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery, can now be heard from where I am."

He also posted a picture of the city in darkness, captioning the post as, "Blackout in Jammu now. Sirens can be heard across the city."

In another post, he said, "It's my earnest appeal to everyone in and around Jammu please stay off the streets, stay at home or at the nearest place you can comfortably stay at for the next few hours. Ignore rumours, don't spread unsubstantiated or unverified stories and we will get through this together."

On Thursday evening, Indian air defence units intercepted at least eight missiles fired by Pakistan towards the border areas of Jammu, including the strategically important Jammu airport, defence sources told PTI.

Blackout in Jammu now. Sirens can be heard across the city. pic.twitter.com/TE0X2LYzQ8

Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 9, 2025

The officials said drones were also engaged in Udhampur and Nagrota of Jammu and Punjab. Tension between the two neighbours soared after the Indian Armed Forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 attack by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.