Blasts rang out across Indian Kashmir and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in neighbouring Punjab state late on Friday, 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 neighbors - could mark a further expansion in the hostilities that havealarmed world powers. The Pakistani military said it had begun an operation against India in retaliation against recent "Indian aggression," CNN reported. Pakistan also said it had hit India's Pathankot Airfield and Udhampur Air Force Station. "Pakistan responds!!" the military said, according to CNN, calling their retaliation "Operation Bunyanun Marsoos." The operation is named after a Quranic verse that means "unbreakable wall." 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 Friday 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 Thursday night. The old foes have been clashing since India struckseveral areasthat it described as"terrorist infrastructure"in Pakistan on Wednesday in retaliation fora deadly attackon Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. Pakistan denied Indian accusations that it was involved in the tourist attack. The two countries haveexchangedcross-border fire and shelling, and they have sent drones and missiles into each other's airspace. Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified. The Indian army said on Friday 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 tostockpile foodand people were told to stay indoors in Kashmir and beyond. India's cricket board on Fridaysuspendedthe IPL - the sport's richest tournament - and the Pakistan Super League postponed its remaining eight matches. The relationship between India and Pakistan has beenfraught with tensionsince 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 PresidentDonald Trumpwants to see the conflict de-escalate. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Pakistan launches attacks on India, upping tension between nuclear powers
