In a first, Israeli Spyder used to shoot down Pakistani drone in Gujarat

A Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down near the International Border in Kutch district of Gujarat on Tuesday morning, hours after Mirage combat jets of the Indian Air Force bombed terror camps at multiple locations across the Line of Control on the Pakistani side, 12 days after Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group carried out the dastardly Pulwama attack in Kashmir.

Interestingly, the drone was brought down in Ambasa village by the Israeli missile Derby, the sources added. This is the first time that Spyder has been used for taking down any enemy aircraft, they said.

The Spyder defence missile system was deployed for operational role in 2017.  Debris of the UAV was seen near Nanghatad village in Abdasa taluka of Kutch, they said.

On hearing a loud sound around 6 am, villagers went to the spot and found the debris of the UAV, sources told news agency PTI.

Asked if a Pakistani UAV had been shot down by the Indian armed forces, a police official, on condition of anonymity, said, "Such an incident has happened, we are investigating the matter."

The official, however, refused to elaborate further.

Indian Army has shot down a Pakistani spy drone in Abdasa village, in Kutch, Gujarat. Army and police personnel present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/84wUJY916l

— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019

Earlier, more than 350 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, including Fidayeen and their trainers, were killed as IAF used 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets in a five-star, resort style camp in a hilltop forest in Balakot in Pakistan on early Tuesday morning, according to sources.

Hundreds of Fidayeen and their trainers were shifted from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to the camp in Balakot after the Pulwama attack, providing Indian forces with "a sitting duck target" when they carried out an air strike early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists, sources told news agency PTI said.

They said at least 325 terrorists and 25 to 27 trainers were at the camp, the biggest operated by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group, which had claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir that killed 40 jawans.