Drone attack on Jammu IAF base
2 bombs go off past midnight; Internal sabotage not ruled out, 2 IAF men hurt; NIA begins probe
In a major security lapse, disquieting twin blasts took place early Sunday at the sensitive Jammu Air Force Station (AFS), which is just 14 km from the India-Pakistan border. The National Investigation Agency is likely to probe the incident, possibly the first drone attack on a military base in India. It is suspected the drones were used to drop low-intensity IEDs to trigger the blasts.
The Indian Air Force, with the aid of forensic experts, has begun a probe into the attack, that left two personnel with minor injuries and a barracks marginally damaged.
The IAF and J&K police sources said that two explosions, within five minutes, rocked the highsecurity technical area of AFS on the outskirts of Jammu on the intervening night of June 26-27. Though Jammu-based defence spokesperson Lt Col Davendra Anand claimed there was no injury to any personnel or any damage to equipment, sources said two IAF personnel had received minor injuries.
The first blast occurred at 1.37 am and the second one at 1.42 am. The IAF tweeted, “Two low intensity explosions were reported early Sunday morning in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station. One caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. There was no damage to any equipment..”
Officials said that most probably drones were used for dropping bombs, but the investigators are also examining possible ‘sabotage from within’. Sources said that the possible target was the aircraft parked in the dispersal area.
A defence official who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity said, “The perpetrators may have failed to inflict fatalities or major damage to aircraft or equipment, it is a serious lapse which needs serious action.”
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, before leaving for Leh on a threeday visit of Ladakh, spoke to Vice Air Chief Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora regarding the explosions. A report said that Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria who is on a three-day visit to Bangladesh will soon reach Jammu for an on-the-spot assessment.
Soon after the blasts, a security alert was issued for all airports, air stations and vital installations across the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Also, tight vigil is being maintained near key installations in Pathankot in neighbouring Punjab. On January 2, 2016, a terror attack was carried out by a heavily armed group at the Pathankot Air Force State which is part of the Western Air Command of the IAF, leaving five attackers and six security personnel dead. Following the attack, India had mounted a surgical strike against some terrorist bases in Pakistan.
The sources and witnessed said that while a team of IAF officials along with forensic experts and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene of occurrence within the AFS Jammu immediately, those of the NIA and J&K police which has registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case and also officials of Central intelligence agencies were seen entering the premises at first light. Simultaneously, a massive search operation was launched outside the AFS. Media persons were not allowed to walk beyond the main entrance to the station “for security reasons.”
The sources said that a team of the National Security Guard (NSG), the elite counter-terrorism unit under the Union home ministry, is also reaching the AFS.
The incident did not affect routine flight operations from the Jammu Airport, the officials said.
The airport is manned by the IAF in Satwari of Jammu. “All flight operations were normal and as many as 16 flights scheduled for the day operated between Jammu and Delhi, Srinagar, Leh and Gwalior. Only two flights, G8 185 and SG 963, were cancelled for the day due to operational reasons,” said Jammu Airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria.
Sources and that while the security agencies are looking into whether drones were used to drop an IED payload inside the AFS, located just 14 km from the India-Pakistan border, to trigger the blasts. They said that weapons and narcotic drugs have been dropped as far as 12 km inside Indian territory using drones in the recent past.