Pakistani Artillery Shelling Kills 3 Civilians in J&K, Locals Say Fighter Jet Crashed in Pampore

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07-05-2025

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Pakistani Artillery Shelling Kills 3 Civilians in J&K, Locals Say Fighter Jet Crashed in Pampore
Jehangir Ali
4 minutes ago
Authorities have shut down the only two civilian airports in Srinagar and Jammu which have been reportedly taken over by the Indian Air Force.
People gather near a damaged property after alleged heavy firing and shelling by Pakistan military overnight across the Line of Control and International Border, at Irwan Khanetar village in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. At least three civilians were killed and ten injured in the incident, according to officials. Photo: PTI
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir woke up to a tense morning on Wednesday (May 7) after two fighter jets reportedly crashed in the outskirts of the capital Srinagar and Jammu's Akhnoor while artillery shelling from Pakistan hit residential areas in two districts of the Union territory.
At least three civilians, including a forest department official, were killed reportedly after Pakistan fired artillery shells at a residential area in Poonch district of Jammu which falls along the Line of Control.
Earlier, India targeted nine locations housing 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early Wednesday morning, two weeks after a terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam left 26 civilians dead.
As of Wednesday, authorities have shut down the only two civilian airports in Srinagar and Jammu which have been reportedly taken over by the Indian Air Force, while the educational institutions in parts of the Union territory have been asked to remain closed on Wednesday amid reports of artillery firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border.
Witnesses said that many residents in Srinagar and adjoining areas in south Kashmir were woken up in the middle of the night on Tuesday by a loud explosion, purportedly caused after a fighter jet crashed in Wuyan locality of the saffron town of Pampore, some 20 kilometres from the capital city.
Fighter jet crash reported from Pampore
A resident of Pampore, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that ahead of the explosion, some fighter jets were hovering in the skies over the town at midnight which is not very far from the Air Force Station in Awantipora.
'Suddenly there was a massive explosion which shook our house as if a powerful earthquake had struck. The sky also lit up as if it were daytime. I immediately woke up my children and went down to the ground floor,' the local resident said.
According to eyewitnesses, the wreckage of the jet was scattered in a radius of around 500 metres in Wuyan area which was immediately cordoned off by the security forces while dozens of journalists who had arrived to cover the aftermath of the incident were turned away.
'Some wreckage fell near a school and in the compound of a mosque. Thankfully, no residential houses were impacted,' the Pampora resident quoted above said.
The aftermath of the crash in Wuyan was live-streamed on Facebook by a local resident who could be heard in the video saying that he was helping the firefighters in rescue operation. It was not immediately known whether there were casualties in the crash.
The origin and the make of the crashed fighter jets was not immediately known. There was no claim by the Union government about the downing of Pakistani fighter jets. According to reports, the crash sites have been taken over by personnel from Indian Air Force.
A pall of gloom descended in north Kashmir's Kupwara after several residential houses were damaged in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday due to artillery shelling from across the Line of Control.
According to reports, the artillery shells landed in a residential area in Karnah town but there were no reports of loss of life or injuries.
A video from the scene of the incident in Karnah showed a massive fire tearing through a residential area with raging flames billowing from at least three to four houses as firefighters struggle to control the blaze.
A man can be heard crying that his cow has died due to the fire while another male voice insists the cameraperson to make a video of the incident.
'Everything has been destroyed. Make a report,' the voice says.
The Wire can't independently verify the footage.
Ceasefire violation in Baramulla and Poonch
Reports of ceasefire violation were also received from Baramulla and Poonch districts following which the educational institutions in parts of the Union territory have been asked by authorities to remain shut on Wednesday.
According to UNI news agency, the three deceased civilians have been identified as Mohammad Adil, Saleem Hussain and Ruby Kour.
In Kashmir, educational institutions in parts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora have been shut while in Jammu division, authorities have ordered closure of educational institutions in parts of Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, Jammu and Samba districts.
in the aftermath of 'Operation Sindoor' that was launched by the armed forces in the intervening night of May 6 and 7 in retaliation against the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the army and the Border Security Forces have been put on a high alert in Jammu and Kashmir.
The operation was carried out more than a fortnight after a group of terrorists gunned down 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam health resort on April 22 in the worst terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir.
India has promised to avenge the terrorist attack and hunt down the perpetrators and their supporters to the 'end of the earth', even as the United States and other countries called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint and resolve their difference through diplomatic measures.
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