News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu IAF Station

  • Nearly 2.5 kg of RDX used in bombs dropped on IAF station in Jammu

    By PTI
    JAMMU: Nearly 2.5 kg of RDX was used in the two bombs suspected to have been dropped by Pakistan-based terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on the Indian Air Force (IAF) station here through drones on June 27, officials said on Monday.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation into what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations in India on June 29.

    Two IAF personnel were injured in the explosions that took place within six minutes of each other.

    The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in Satwari on the outskirts of Jammu.

    The second one was on the ground.

    The probe by the investigators pointed to the involvement of LeT terrorists who were actively assisted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan in carrying out the covert operation, the officials said.

    They said the probe indicated that the drones with bombs, containing nearly 2.5 kgs RDX, came from across the border.

    The aerial distance from the Jammu airport to the international border is 14 km.

    The use of RDX in the explosion was confirmed by experts after samples from the scene were sent for examination.

    While one of the bombs was laced with 1.5 kg of RDX, the other contained nearly 1 kg of RDX, the officials said.

    On July 2, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said the involvement of Pakistan in the drone attack cannot be ruled out as there is a strong suspicion about the role of LeT in it.

    Singh had said the use of armed drones by Pakistan-based terrorists is a serious threat to the security system and there was a need to have a relook at the security of vital places and persons.

    “We have got very serious and strong suspicions that LeT is involved in this case…Since LeT is involved and the outfit is run from Pakistan, so in a way, Pakistan’s involvement cannot be ruled out,” the police chief had told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kathua district.

    To what extent Pakistani agencies are involved would be known only when the investigation proceeds further, he had said.

    The DGP said over a dozen incidents had taken place earlier wherein the LeT was involved in dropping weapons, ready-made IEDs and narcotics using drones.

    Singh said it is very much possible that the drones came from across the border.

    “In the earlier drone droppings, the drones covered a distance of 10 to 15 km and the aerial distance of the Jammu airport (from the international border) is not more than that.

    The particular route which is suspected to have been taken by the drone if it had come from across (the border) also comes within the range of 15 km,” he had said.

    Singh said there have been incidents of drone droppings in Akhnoor and Arnia on the outskirts of Jammu and Samba and the initial indications and questioning of people who have been caught pointed towards it.

  • Drones banned in Srinagar

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: A week after a drone attack at an Air Force base in Jammu, authorities in Srinagar on Sunday banned the sale, possession and use of such unmanned aerial vehicles in the city.

    Earlier, authorities in border districts of Rajouri and Kathua in the Jammu region had put curbs on the use of drones and other UAVs in the wake of the terror attack last Sunday.

    Two explosives-laden drones had crashed into the Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport and there were other suspicious sightings of UAVs, triggering a security alert.

    In an order, deputy commissioner of Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz directed those having drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles to deposit them in local police stations.

    The order, however, exempted government departments using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance in agricultural, environmental conservation and disaster mitigation sectors but directed them to inform the local police station before using them.

    The administration cautioned that any violation of the guidelines will attract punitive action, and directed police to implement the restrictions in letter and spirit.

    The order to ban the use of drones came after the recommendations of the city’s police chief.

    “The decentralised airspace access has to be regulated in view of recent episodes of misuse of drones posing threat to security infrastructure as reported by media/other reliable sources,” the order said.

    To “secure the aerial space” near the vital installations and highly populated areas, it is “imperative” to discontinue the use of drones in all social and cultural gatherings to eliminate any risk of injury to the life and damage of property, the order said.

    “Keeping in view the security situation, apart from concerns of breach of privacy, nuisance and trespass, it is extremely dangerous to let unmanned aerial vehicles wander around in the skies within the territorial jurisdiction of district Srinagar,” it said.

    The district magistrate imposed “restrictions/ban on the storage, sale/ possession, use and transport of drones/similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles in the city”.

    “Persons already having the drone cameras/ similar kind of unmanned aerial vehicles in their possession shall ground the same in the local police stations under proper receipt,” the order said.

  • LeT suspected to be behind IAF station attack in Jammu, drones may have come from across border: DGP

    By PTI
    JAMMU/ NEW DELHI: The banned Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit is suspected to have been behind the sensational drone attack on the Indian Air Force station in Jammu on Sunday morning with indication that the unmanned aerial vehicles had come from across the border, a top police official said on Tuesday.

    Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh told PTI that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terror outfit based out of Pakistan, is suspected to be responsible for the attack. Two drones dropped explosive material on the IAF station located at Jammu airport on Sunday injuring two personnel.

    A cocktail of explosive material, including RDX, is believed to have been used. The case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday. The decision to hand over the probe into the first-of-its-kind terror attack at the Indian Air Force station was taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

    A 1987-batch IPS officer, Singh, who has been monitoring the situation as well as the probe, said that in all likelihood, the unmanned aerial vehicles have flown in from across the border and returned after the operation. “We are still probing the case and will extend all our findings with other security agencies,” Singh said.

    Police also carried out a series of raids in Jammu and neighbouring locations but could not establish any concrete leads. “The drones are suspected to have come from across (the border) but we are still probing as of now,” he said.

    He said police have sensitised vital installations about the new threat from terror outfits. “All preventive measures have been taken for the same,” Singh said. He said that a general warning has also been issued to the public for no unauthorised use of drones in Jammu and Kashmir. “Strict actions would be taken for the same,” he added.

    In what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station in Jammu in the early hours of Sunday, causing minor injuries to two airmen.

    The explosions took place around 1.40 am within six minutes of each other. The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in Satwari on the outskirts of Jammu.

    The second one was on the ground. The aerial distance from the Jammu airport to the international border is 14 km.

  • FIR registered under UAPA in Jammu IAF station blast case; NIA likely to take over probe

    By PTI
    JAMMU: An FIR was registered Sunday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after two explosives-laden drones crashed into the IAF station at Jammu airport, officials said, while indicating the case may be taken over by the terror probe agency NIA.

    The drones crashed into the IAF station at Jammu airport in the early hours of Sunday, perhaps the first time that suspected Pakistan-based terrorists have used unmanned aerial vehicles in an attack, the officials said.

    An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Satwari police station on the application of a junior warrant officer of the IAF, the officials said.

    “The NIA is likely to take over the case. They are already supervising the investigation at the scene of the blast after joining the probe,” one of the officials said.

    He said an FIR was registered under UAPA sections 13/16/18/23 of the (unlawful activities/terrorist act/conspiracy/enhanced penalties), and IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

    Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act (causing explosion likely to endanger life or property/attempt to cause explosion, or for making or keeping explosive with intent to endanger life or property) have also been included.

    The explosions took place around 1.40 am within six minutes of each other.

    The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the high security technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in Satwari area of the city.

    The second one was on the ground, the officials said.

    Two IAF personnel were injured in the incident, which Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh has termed a “terror attack”.

    Probe teams from the IAF and Special Forces have also visited the scene along with forensic experts to investigate the nature of the blast and collect evidence, they said.

    Meanwhile, a battery of mediapersons camped outside the main gate of the IAF station hit by the twin blasts.

    However, no out of ordinary movement was noticed at the gate except visits by senior officers of the Army, police, CRPF and other agencies.

    Labourers engaged for routine work inside the station reported on schedule and were allowed in after usual checking of their identity cards and frisking.

    Army quick reaction teams (QRTs) were seen making rounds to maintain watch outside the IAF station, while security forces also carried out area domination in the adjoining residential localities, the officials quoted above said.

    Security has been beefed up across Jammu region including on highways where special checkpoints were set up to carry out checking of vehicles especially at the entry and exit points of the city.

    DGP Dilbag Singh also said while officials were investigating the drone attack, another major strike was averted as a person, probably owing allegiance to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, was arrested along with an improvised explosive device weighing around six kg.

    The person was tasked with triggering the IED blast at a crowded place, Singh said.

    “The suspect has been detained and is being interrogated. More suspects are likely to be picked up in this foiled IED blast attempt.”