Three fighter jets crashed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, four local government sources told Reuters, hours after India attacked Pakistan’s civilian areas with missile strikes that resulted in the martyrdom of 26 people including children and women.
All three India Air Force pilots were hospitalised after their jets crashed, according to the sources.
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, earlier said on Wednesday that the Pakistan army downed five Indian fighter jets and one combat drone in response to unprovoked aggression.
Speaking during a briefing, the DG ISPR said that India carried out 24 airstrikes on six different locations inside Pakistani territory. The DI ISPR confirmed 26 civilians were martyred and 46 others injured in overnight Indian airstrikes targetingThe crashes occurred just hours after New Delhi announced it had targeted sites across the border in retaliatory airstrikes.
In Wuyan, a village in IIOJK’s Pulwama district, residents reported seeing large pieces of metal debris scattered in fields.
Images shared on social media and picked up by local outlets appeared to show damaged aircraft components. Reuters has not independently verified the authenticity of the images.
On the other hand, India’s prominent English-language newspaper The Hindu briefly published a report on the crash of three Indian fighter jets, attributing the losses to Pakistani air force action.
The article was removed from its website within hours, and a corresponding post on the paper’s official X (formerly Twitter) account was also deleted.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army shot down another Indian drone, in Kotli sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, state-run PTV reported citing security sources.
This marks the third drone intercepted in recent hours, with earlier drones brought down in the Barnala and Shakargarh sectors.
Security officials said the Pakistan Army continues to deliver a strong and immediate response to all forms of Indian aggression along the Line of Control (LoC).
