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Blackout, blasts and sirens grip Jammu as India-Pakistan tensions escalate
The explosions come in the wake of continued shelling by Pakistan, which follows India’s targeted strike on nine terrorist camps
Jammu city plunged into darkness on Friday amid the sounds of blasts and blaring sirens, as tensions escalated between India and Pakistan.
The explosions come in the wake of continued shelling by Pakistan, which follows India’s targeted strike on nine terrorist camps earlier this week as part of Operation Sindoor.
“Intermittent blasts, likely from heavy artillery, are still echoing in the area where I am,” Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah shared in a post on X.
He also posted an image of the city plunged into darkness, captioning it, “Blackout in Jammu now. Sirens can be heard across the city.”
Omar Abdullah urged people in and around Jammu to stay indoors and avoid the streets for the next few hours. He advised ignoring rumors and unverified stories, emphasising unity in facing the situation.
“It’s my earnest appeal to everyone in & 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 & we will get through this together,” Omar said in a post on X.
Pakistani drones spotted over Jammu, Samba, Pathankot
Meanwhile, Pakistani drones were spotted over Jammu, Samba, and the Pathankot sector, and were promptly engaged by the Indian armed forces.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply on Thursday evening after a Pakistani drone and missile attack targeted areas in Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
The attempted strike was intercepted by Indian air defence systems. The attack triggered blackouts, air raid sirens in multiple cities, and led to the suspension of the ongoing IPL match in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
India deployed Barak-8 missiles, S-400 Triumph air defence systems, Akash surface-to-air missiles and indigenously developed anti-drone equipment in thwarting Pakistan's attempts to hit 15 Indian cities on Wednesday night.
Pakistani military attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj using missiles and drones.
