J&K police shoot down drone near LOC, recover 5 kg IED

A drone laden with almost 5 kg of improvised explosive device (IED) was shot down by Kashmir police at Gurah Pattan area in Akhnoor of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday (July 23).

Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh has confirmed the incident.

The incident comes close on the heels of the twin blasts at the Air Force Base in Jammu.

Sources said the drone was shot down 8 km inside the Line of Control (LOC). It reportedly came from Pakistan’s side of the LOC.

Also read: Srinagar bans unmanned aerial vehicles nearly weeks after Jammu attacks

Indian Express said the IED that was wrapped in a plastic packet was supposed to be airdropped in a nearby area and those collecting were only required to connect its fuse with the wire before detonating it.

While police suspect the role of Lashkar-e-Taiba behind the planting of the explosive, intelligence agencies are probing the outfit’s involvement and whether it is using drones as a modus operandi for terror attacks.

The incident comes two days ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the valley.

Two drones laden with explosives detonated at the Air Force Station in the intervening night of June 26 and 27. Two personnel had sustained injuries.

Several drones have been seen in multiple locations of Jammu and Kashmir since the twin blasts at Jammu.

In a statement Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh had said that drones were being used by terror outfits for terrorist activities and that the police is on extra alert to avoid a recurrence of the Jammu episode.