Pakistan's army has announced that its Air Force had downed two Indian warplanes in the Pakistani airspace, adding that one Indian pilot had been captured.
In its turn, Indian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson has stated that the country's Air Force had lost a combat jet and foiled an attack by Pakistan's military jets over the disputed region of Kashmir.
"The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21."
The escalation follows Indian airstrikes on the camp of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group located across the so-called Line of Control (LoC) separating the Indian-and Pakistani-controlled parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
READ MORE: Pakistan Shoots Down Two Indian Aircraft Inside its Airspace, 1 Pilot Captured — Military
India explained the unauthorised airstrikes from Pakistan's airspace by Islamabad's alleged "inability to act in order to destroy terrorist infrastructure," while the Pakistani Foreign Ministry has slammed the air strike as a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
India's aerial operation came in the wake of the February 14 terror attack when a car filled with explosives was detonated on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, killing 45 Indian officers. After the attack, India blamed Pakistan for harboring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. As a punitive measure, India has withdrawn Pakistan's most-favored nation status and raised custom duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 percent.
