Wreckage Of Pakistani F-16 Fighter Shot Down By IAF Seen In PoK

Islamabad: Pakistani officers are seen looking at the remains of the Pakistani F-16 fighter jet shot down by the Indian Air Force on Wednesday, in an image that has been circulated on social media.

Sources in the Air Force (IAF) have confirmed that metal piece seen in the image is part of the F-16 wreckage.

Those seen in the photo are commanding officers of Pakistan's 7 Northern Light Infantry, said sources.

The plane was shot down in an aerial combat between Indian and Pakistani warplanes yesterday, the first such confrontation in 48 years, a day after India sent its fighter jets into Pakistan to destroy a major terror training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror group behind the suicide attack in Kashmir's Pulwama in which over 40 soldiers were killed.

Pakistan said on Wednesday that it had shot down two Indian aircraft and taken a pilot into custody.

The government said Pakistan had tried to target Indian military installations but its planes had been chased back into Pakistani territory.

According to the foreign ministry, Pakistan had responded to India's counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side.

"The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft (F-16) 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," said the foreign ministry.

"In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," it added.