Srinagar, 31 January (H.S.): Security forces thwarted a major drone intrusion attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district by shooting down eight out of 15 Pakistani drones spotted in the Keran sector. The remaining drones retreated across the border, officials said on Saturday.

Defence sources told that troops of the Indian Army’s 6 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) immediately opened fire after detecting the drones hovering near the LoC.

In the swift retaliatory action, eight drones were successfully shot down, while the remaining drones fled back across the border.

Defence sources said the incident took place during heightened vigilance along the LoC, where security forces remain on high alert in view of recent infiltration attempts and drone activity from across the border.

“The area was immediately sanitised, and search operations were launched to rule out any possible infiltration or dropping of suspicious material,” he said.

Officials said additional troops have been deployed in the region and surveillance has been further intensified to prevent any untoward incident. The situation along the LoC remains under control, they added.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar