Suspected cross border drones trigger firing and search operations in J&K

Indian Army troops opened fire on multiple suspected Pakistani drones after they crossed into Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Tuesday evening, defence officials said. The drones were detected hovering briefly over forward areas in the Manjakote sector before retreating towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after troops responded with live fire under standard counter unmanned aerial system procedures.

According to official sources, the first drone activity was noticed around 7 pm over the Dunga Gala area in the Chingus region of Rajouri. Army personnel immediately engaged the aerial objects after confirming their movement across the LoC. A second incident followed around 7.35 pm when two drone-like objects were detected over the forward Dheri Dhara village. Several rounds were fired, following which the suspected drones moved towards Kalali and disappeared from sight. Search operations were launched in the surrounding areas to ensure that no weapons, explosives or narcotics were dropped during the brief intrusion.

The incidents are part of a series of drone sightings reported along the LoC and the International Border over the past few days. On Sunday, troops deployed in the Nowshera sector fired medium and light machine guns after observing drone movement over Gania Kalsian village. On the same day, similar sightings were reported over Khabbar village in Teryath, Kalakote in Rajouri, Tain Topa in the Mankote area of Poonch district, and Chak Babral village in the Ramgarh sector of Samba. In all these cases, the flying objects returned within minutes without any reported damage.

The heightened alert follows a significant recovery on Friday night when security forces seized an arms consignment dropped by a drone from across the border in Paloora village of Ghagwal near the International Border in Samba district. The recovered cache included two pistols, three magazines, 16 rounds of ammunition and a grenade, reinforcing concerns that drones are being used for arms smuggling and reconnaissance.

Amid the repeated incidents, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday strongly raised the issue with Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during official communication. The Indian Army conveyed its serious concern over the continued drone sightings in the Jammu sector over the last three days, terming them a violation of existing ceasefire understandings and a threat to border security.

Security agencies remain on high alert across forward areas in Jammu and Kashmir, with intensified surveillance and counter drone measures in place as investigations continue into the repeated aerial intrusions.