NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD – Militaries of India and Pakistan on Saturday targeted each other with drones and missiles as the situation escalated between the two neighbors.

The Indian government said 32 airports across northern and western parts of the country have been shut for civilian flight operations until May 15 amid escalating military conflict with Pakistan. The airports closed are in states including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and the India-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan also closed its airspace for all types of flights until 12:00 pm (0700 GMT) on Sunday, according to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.

The airspace was initially closed at around 3:15 am on Saturday (GMT 2215 Friday) and was scheduled to reopen by Saturday noon time. But the authorities extended the closure in a fresh statement issued just before the deadline.

The announcements came after India said Pakistan used missiles to target its bases, hours after Pakistan accused Delhi of targeting three of its military airbases.

READ MORE: Report: India launches attacks on Pakistan's air defense systems at multiple locations

During a media briefing on Saturday, the Indian government admitted that its forces carried out precision airstrikes on Pakistan Air Force bases.

The Indian government blamed Pakistan for "continued provocations" along India's western border and on Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, by using unmanned combat aerial vehicles, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter jets to target civilian areas and military infrastructure.

"Pakistan military also resorted to air intrusions using drones and firing of heavy caliber weapons along the LoC. Along the international border and the LoC, air intrusions and several harassment attacks were also attempted from Srinagar till Naliya at more than 26 locations," Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told media during the briefing.

"There were also several high-speed missile attacks noticed subsequently after 0140 hours (local time) in the night at several air bases in Punjab," said the commander.

Pakistani officials and sources confirmed in the wee hours of Saturday that India launched missile and drone strikes in multiple areas of Pakistan, including three airbases of the Pakistan Air Force, and also resorted to unprovoked firing along the international border in eastern Punjab province.

Pakistan later launched a military offensive "Bunyanun Marsoos", meaning concrete structure, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said, adding that multiple targets across India were being engaged.

According to the Indian side, the strikes were undertaken to avenge last month's killing of 26 people by gunmen in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. Since then militaries of the two countries are targeting each other with missiles, drones and shelling in the frontier areas close to their border and Line of Control in Kashmir.

Over the past three days, hundreds of flights were cancelled and many others diverted because of the closure of airports in the wake of the ongoing military conflict between the two nuclear neighbors.

"The Airports Authority of India and relevant aviation authorities have issued a series of Notices to Airmen announcing the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations," India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

The civil aviation ministry said the AAI has also extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions due to operational reasons.

The ministry further asked airlines and flight operators to plan alternate routings as per current air traffic advisories. "The temporary closure is being managed in coordination with relevant Air Traffic Control units to ensure safety and minimize disruption," the ministry said.

Pakistan’s offensive

In an airstrike as part of "Bunyanun Marsoos", Pakistan successfully targeted and destroyed an Indian S-400 air defense system in Adampur, located in Jalandhar district of India's Punjab state, the ISPR said in a statement.

The strike was carried out using hypersonic missiles deployed from the JF-17 platform, with precision-guided munitions neutralizing the advanced air defense asset, it said. The S-400 system, estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion, was considered one of India's most sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems, added the statement.

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An airfield in Pathankot district of India's Punjab province has also been targeted and destroyed, according to the ISPR.

Official sources told Xinhua that the BrahMos missile storage facility in the Indian city of Beas had been reportedly destroyed in the initial strike.

Indian attack

India launched air-to-surface missiles at three air bases in Pakistan, a spokesperson for the Pakistani army said in the wee hours of Saturday.

The Indian missiles were launched from Indian aircraft targeting Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi city of Punjab province, where the headquarters of the Pakistani army is located, said ISPR director general Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.

The Pakistani military successfully intercepted the missiles and confirmed that two other PAF airbases in Punjab were also targeted, but all strategic assets remain safe and operational, he added.

READ MORE: Flights suspended at Pakistani airports amid Pakistan-India clashes

Speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, well-placed sources said that five security personnel, including an officer, were injured in the attacks and shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The sources added that the Indian army also initiated unprovoked firing at the international border near Narowal district in Punjab province, injuring one Pakistani soldier.

A few short-range missiles also landed in the Punjab's provincial capital city of Lahore, though no casualties or property damage were reported.

Several drones were reported in various parts of the country, including the capital city of Peshawar in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

One man was injured when a drone fell in the Gulberg Greens area at the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad police sources told Xinhua, adding that multiple drones had been spotted in the capital, and police, along with security agencies, were dispatched to investigate the situation.

Saifullah Khan, a spokesperson of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, told Xinhua that all airfields of Pakistan have been closed till 12:00 am local time (GMT 0700) Saturday.