"Our Cities Had A Mass Raid Of Drones In Waves": Air Force on Operation Sindoor

After 'Operation Sindoor' was against terror bases in Pakistan on early May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, Islamabad attempted to attack Indian cities with a "mass raid of drones in waves", the Army said on Sunday.

In response, India carried out a "joint air-sea-land deployment", the army said, adding it maintained a robust "air defence posture".

"On the night of 8th and 9th, starting as early as 22:30 hours, our cities had a mass raid of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles. We were prepared and our air defence preparedness ensured that there was no damage on the ground or to any of the intended targets that the enemy had planned for," said Air Marshal AK Bharti.

"In a measured and calibrated response, we once again targeted the military installations, surveillance radar sites at Lahore and Gujranwala.  While the drone attacks were being launched from somewhere closer to Lahore, the enemy had allowed their civilian aircraft also to continue to fly out of Lahore, not only their own aircraft but also international passenger aircraft, which is quite insensitive and we had to exercise extreme caution..." he added.

'Operation Sindoor' was in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 people dead, mostly tourists. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir attack and vowed to retaliate to India's operation.

What followed was a wave of Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions, which India said was "repulsed" by its forces, who gave a "befitting reply" to Islamabad's aggression.

India said it "neutralised" Pakistani attempts to strike military targets with drones and missiles, including hitting air bases in Pakistan.

India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday. However, it was violated by Pakistan just hours later, after it resorted to shelling and launched drones toward Indian cities. The Army has warned Pakistan that any violation tonight or later will be responded to "fiercely".