India / Explosion heard inside Jammu airport's technical area, bomb disposal squad on spot

Srinagar: Two low-intensity explosions rocked the Indian Air Force's (IAF) technical airport in Jammu's Satwari early Sunday morning. There was no injury to any personnel or damage to any equipment, the PRO Defence said.

A team of forensic experts and Bomb Disposal Squad have reached the explosion site. The cause of the blasts is unknown and is being probed.  "Two drones were used to carry out the explosions near the Jammu airbase," according to the sources.

"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. Probe on," the Indian Air Force (IAF) said in a tweet.

Late last night at about 2 am, there was an explosion inside the airport after which the area has been cordoned off. The forensic team and the Bomb Disposal Squad have gone inside. The teams have been trying to assess the cause of the explosion.

For quite some time, there had been inputs that some anti-national elements were planning to target the airport. However, it's not clear whether it's a terror attack or there's some other cause of the explosion as no official statement has been made so far, he added.

The first blast, which took place around 1.45 am, ripped off the roof of a building at the technical area of the airport manned by the Air Force. The second one was on the ground.

Defence Minister in Ladakh today

This comes at a time when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Ladakh to carry out an extensive review of India’s operational readiness amid a prolonged standoff with China.

The Defence Minister’s visit comes just two days after India and China held another round of diplomatic talks to resolve the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control that began in early May 2020.

“Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will be visiting Ladakh tomorrow for three days. During his Ladakh visit he will inaugurate infra projects constructed by BRO and also interact with troops deployed in the region,” Singh’s office said in a post on social media platform Twitter.

Terrorist arrested from Narwal area

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police have said that one terrorist has been arrested from the Narwal area and five kg IED has been recovered from him. Further investigation is underway.

Earlier on Saturday, four civilians were injured in a grenade attack by terrorists on a joint patrol party of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team at Barbar Shah in Srinagar on Saturday.

"The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on road. In this incident, four civilians got injured and were evacuated to a nearby hospital for the treatment of their injuries," the police had said.