Multiple explosions were reported late Thursday night across the city of Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir, amid what Indian military officials suspect to be a series of drone attacks launched from Pakistan.
The blasts occurred on the second day of heightened hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Witnesses described seeing red flashes and projectiles lighting up the night sky, while sirens echoed through the city.
Indian officials confirmed that military installations across five districts—including Akhnoor, Samba, and Kathua—came under attack.
A senior Indian security official, speaking to Reuters, confirmed that army facilities in these areas were targeted.
There has been no official response from Islamabad regarding the latest escalation, which marks the worst confrontation between the two countries in over two decades.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned that further retaliation was "increasingly certain" after both countries exchanged accusations of drone warfare.
India claims it struck nine terror-related sites in Pakistan on Wednesday in response to an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir, which it blames on Islamabad. Pakistan denied involvement and asserted that none of the locations targeted were militant bases.
It also claimed to have downed five Indian aircraft—an allegation the Indian embassy in Beijing labeled as “misinformation.”
In the latest exchange, Pakistan said it had shot down 25 Indian drones overnight, while India reported intercepting drone and missile attacks on its military assets.
The international community—including the U.S., Russia, and China—has urged both sides to de-escalate tensions in what remains one of the world’s most volatile nuclear flashpoints.
The U.S. Consulate General in Lahore has instructed its staff to shelter in place as a precaution.
