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Blasts rock Indian Kashmir, Amritsar as Pakistan conflict escalates
The explosions in Amritsar - the first heard there in the three-day-old conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours - could mark a further expansion in the hostilities that have alarmed world powers.
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Reuters - Sat, 10, May 2025
- 02:34 EDT
- 72
India's air defence system intercepts objects in the sky during a blackout following multiple blasts in the city of Jammu, May 9, 2025. / REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Blasts rang out across Indian Kashmir and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in neighbouring Punjab state late on May 9, with the Indian military saying it was shooting down drones in the worst fighting with Pakistan in nearly three decades.
The explosions in Amritsar - the first heard there in the three-day-old conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours - could mark a further expansion in the hostilities that have alarmed world powers.
Projectiles and flashes were seen in the night sky above the Indian Kashmir city of Jammu. It was plunged into a blackout on the second night of blasts in the region's winter capital, officials and a Reuters journalist said.
"Drones have been sighted ... They are being engaged," said an Indian military official who asked not to be named.
The Indian army said in a statement late on May 9 that drones were sighted in 26 locations across a wide area of India's west and northwest from Kashmir and states bordering Pakistan to the edge of the Arabian Sea.
Ten blasts were heard near the airport in the Indian Kashmir city of Srinagar and there were explosions in more locations in the contested region, other security officials added.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. It had dismissed Indian accusations that it launched attacks on the same area on May 8 night.
The old foes have been clashing since a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. Pakistan terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam.
Pakistan denied Indian accusations that it was involved in the tourist attack. The two countries have exchanged cross-border fire and shelling, and they have sent drones and missiles into each other's airspace.
Around 48 people have been killed since May 7, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified. The Indian army said on May 9 that a family was severely injured by an armed drone in Ferozepur in India's Punjab state near the Pakistani border.
Tourists and villagers fled border zones, residents rushed to stockpile food and people were told to stay indoors in Kashmir and beyond. India's cricket board on Friday suspended the IPL - the sport's richest tournament - and the Pakistan Super League postponed its remaining eight matches.
The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension since they gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947. The countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, and clashed many times.
In Washington, the White House said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in constant contact with the leaders of both countries and reiterated that President Donald Trump wants to see the conflict de-escalate.
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