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Air raid sirens and numerous explosions have been heard in the city of Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir, with residents reporting blasts and red flashes from projectiles in the sky.
India has accused Pakistan of attempting a drone attack, while Islamabad has said it has shot down drones launched from India, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India has acknowledged that it targeted Pakistan’s air defence system, and Islamabad said it shot down several of the drones. India said it “neutralised” Pakistan’s attempts to hit military targets.
New Delhi said it was retaliating after gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir last month.
Pakistan claims it killed “40-50” soldiers by shelling Indian military installations along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, in retaliation for Wednesday’s pre-dawn airstrikes by India. At least 16 civilians and an Indian soldier were killed in heavy shelling in India’s Poonch district, Indian police said.
India has been accused by social-media platform X (Twitter) of censorship after New Delhi ordered it to block thousands of accounts in the country including accounts belonging to international news organisations.
“Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” X posted.
India said its air force struck nine sites inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in a pre-dawn raid early on Wednesday, claiming its “Operation Sindoor” targeted terrorist camps and infrastructure. Pakistan says at least 31 people, including women and children, were killed, despite Indian officials insisting there were no civilian casualties.
Pakistan shot down several Indian aircraft during the strikes, at least three of which came down on the Indian side of the de facto border. The question now is whether that – as well as heavy shelling in Kashmir that Indian police say has killed at least 13 civilians – will be deemed enough of a response.
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Holly Evans8 May 2025 22:00
Pakistan’s military claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force jets, including three French-made Rafales, in a major escalation of cross-border hostilities potentially marking the first combat loss of the advanced aircraft.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, told reporters on Wednesday that the jets were targeted from within Pakistani airspace in retaliation for earlier Indian airstrikes.
But BBC Verify has now authenticated three videos all taken from what appears to be the same field and purport to show the wreckage of a French-manufactured Rafale fighter jet.
One clip is thought to be taken in a field near the city of Bathinda in India’s Punjab state. It shows troops collecting debris from what experts suggest was the crashed jet.
Two further clips are also from the same location. One shows debris in the field, while another shows a projectile catching fire in the sky, and then fire in an open field, The BBC reported.
Justin Crump, a former British Army Officer, told BBC Verify the wreckage appears to be a French air-to-air missile of a type used on both Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter jets. These are both used by the Indian Air Force.
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 21:45
– Two huge blasts and sirens were heard in Jammu city in Indian Kashmir on Thursday and there was a blackout across the city.
– India’s army Pakistan of firing missiles and drones at two military bases in Indian-administered Kashmir, and another in India’s Punjab district.
– Pakistan’s defence minister denied Pakistan is responsible for any attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
– Pakistan also said it shot down 25 Indian drones overnight, but Delhi did not comment.
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 21:30
Indian airline Akasa Air has warned it’s customers to arrive three hours earlier, due to extra security measures.
It comes as 24 airports across the country have now closed for civil flight operations.
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 21:15
India said its Operation Sindoor struck nine Pakistani sites on Wednesday that provided “terrorist infrastructure” and from which attacks against it were orchestrated. Its military spokesperson said the sites were completely destroyed.
Sindoor, which refers to the red vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women, is an apparent reference to the widows left by the 22 April attack that killed 26 men, most of them Hindu.
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Holly Evans8 May 2025 21:00
Blasts rang out across the Indian city of Jammu late on Thursday during what the government said was a Pakistani drone and missile attack on military stations around the Kashmir region.
It comes on the second day of clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Sirens sounded and red flashes and projectiles erupted in the night sky above Jammu for more than two hours.
India’s Ministry of Defence said on X: “Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot & Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the international border in J&K today,”
“The threats were swiftly neutralised …. No casualties or material losses were reported.”
Indian TV channels also showed flares and flashes in the sky above Jaisalmer city in Rajasthan state, which shares a border with the southern Pakistani province of Sindh.
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 20:30
A blackout is seen after residents of the city of Jammu reported hearing explosions and sirens in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir.
(AP)
A blackout is seen after residents of the city of Jammu (AP)
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 20:15
The Civil Aviation Ministry informed that 24 airports are closed amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions.
Here is the full list, according to Hindustan Times:
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 19:51
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif has denied Pakistan is responsible for any attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
He told the BBC: “We deny it, we have not mounted anything so far.
“We will not strike and then deny,” Asif said.
“It will be known all over the world” when Pakistan decides to attack, he added.
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif (REUTERS)
Rebecca Whittaker8 May 2025 19:45