Indian Air Force’s Jammu Air Force station was attacked with explosives today, with one of the bombs partly damaging a building.
In what is being touted as a first-of-its-kind terrorist attack, the low-intensity bombs were dropped on the station using drones.
An investigation team from the National Investigation Agency has reached the spot.
While there is no official word yet, sources say that two IAF officers have endured non-threatening injuries. Despite there being no serious damage, the breach at the otherwise extremely secure Jammu IAF station in an unprecedented way poses a serious challenge from a perspective of internal security.
The explosions took place at 0200, late into Saturday night. Sources told Rakshak News that a total of four bombs had been dropped by the terrorists via drones, out of which only two exploded.
The IED explosives were dropped from a height – while one fell in an open field, the other fell on a building near the helicopter hanger, blasting part of the roof as it exploded.
The Jammu station drone attack is a shocking and worrying development in an area as sensitive as J&K, where security forces have always been a target for terrorist and militant groups.
The airbase explosion has brought to light gaping lapses in security against ever-evolving threats to national security. The absence of infrastructure to identify and target such remote-operated drones is a massive challenge before defence forces.
Information gathered from various sources also indicates that the drones were made in Pakistan and their possible target was the aviation fuel tanker situated at the station.
Fortunately, the worst was averted as the lack of network in the area would have weakened GPS signals, derailing the drones off their original course, sources indicated.
