Srinagar/Jammu, May 10: A missile-like object dropped into Srinagar’s Dal Lake on Saturday as loud explosions rocked the city.

Officials said that a missile-like object fell into Dal Lake this morning. The object’s debris has been recovered and is being analysed, the officials added.

Another suspicious object was recovered from the Lasjan area of Srinagar, and the same is also being analysed.

Loud explosions continued to rock Srinagar and Jammu cities as people started panicking and asking about these explosions.

Five people, including Raj Kumar Thapa, Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Rajouri and a woman identified as Rashida Bi were among the five killed persons by indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan.

One person identified as Ashok Kumar was killed by a splinter in the R.S. Pura area of Jammu. Two residents of Bihar, including a two-year-old boy and a 36-year-old man, were also killed in the Mendhar area of Poonch district.

Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha said on X, “Reviewed security situation in the border districts. Anguished by the loss of lives due to unprovoked shelling by Pakistan. We have lost brave citizens, including our ADDC Rajouri, Dr. Raj Kumar Thapa, in the line of duty. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”

A drone was shot down by the air-defence system at the old airfield in Srinagar on Saturday as the city was rocked by massive blasts, officials said.

Two massive explosions were heard near the Srinagar airport around noon, they said.

The officials said a drone hovering over the old airfield, also called the “technical” airport, was shot down by the air defence system.

Further details were awaited, they added.

Former chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said on X, “Even though initially U.S. Vice President Vance stated that America wouldn’t intervene beyond a certain point in the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan – now in light of the worrying intensity of the situation, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reached out to the Pakistani Army Chief, urging de-escalation. India, as the world’s largest democracy and now as an emerging power/ the most populous nation, with a rapidly growing economy ranked third globally, must not rely on inconsistent international support. Instead, India should embrace its leadership role in the subcontinent and take the first step to de-escalate. The world is watching us. This is the moment for India to stand tall and demonstrate that its true strength lies in its soft power and commitment to peace, not in nukes.”

New Delhi, May 10: India responded strongly to Pakistan’s repeated drone and missile attacks and hit at least eight military targets inside Pakistan on Friday night with precision, thereby causing significant damage, the Centre told the Media, as part of a special briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Six Pakistani military bases were targeted with precision while one radar site and one aviation base was targeted in Indian strikes, informed the special team led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, flanked by two women officers Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.

“Pakistan military bases at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian were targeted through air launch, precision ammunition and fighter jets. A radar site in Pasrur and an aviation base in Sialkot were also targeted with precision ammunition. During these actions, India ensured minimum collateral damage and losses,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told the Media.

She said that Indian armed forces resorted to retaliatory action and targeted technical installations, command and control centres, radar sites and arms store inside Pakistan after it deliberately targeted air bases last night.

“Pakistan attacked Indian bases in Udhampur, Pathankot and Bathinda among other stations last night,” the team admitted but dismissed reports that there were severe damages.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh also displayed the time-stamp images of the military facilities to negate Pakistan’s false claims of having targeted these IAF bases.

The special team, helmed by the Foreign Secretary also spotlighted how Pakistan, a safe haven for terrorists was brazenly trying to escalate the situation. They said that they have ample information of Pakistan moving its troops to border areas.

“The Pakistani military has been observed as moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation. Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness. All hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded to appropriately,” the Wing Commander said.

New Delhi: In a major escalation by Pakistan, Fatah-II long-range missile was reportedly fired targeting Delhi on Saturday. India’s air defence intercepted and destroyed the missile near Haryana’s Sirsa, reported Media. Notably, Fatah-II is a surface-to-surface missile reportedly having a range of 400 km.

Earlier, in the early hours of Saturday, India reportedly struck four Pakistan airbases, including Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Punjab’s Chakwal and Rafiqi in Punjab’s Shorkot. Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry admitted the attack on Pakistan airbases.

India launched these retaliatory strikes after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across India on Saturday, the sources told Media. Intermittent firing is still going on at several places along the Line of Control (LoC). All Indian Army and Air bases are safe.

“Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and LoC with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala. Regrettably, an armed drone targeted a civilian area in Ferozpur, resulting in injuries to members of a local family,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement as reported by Media.

Tensions between the two neighbours soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.