Terror headquarters of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen were targeted in the night raids carried out by the Indian Air Force in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly holidayers.
The nine hideouts targeted in the night raids were located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Markaz Subhan Allah at Bahawalpur, Sarjal at Tehra Kalan, Markaz Abbas in Kotli and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad – all of JeM terror group, Markaz Taiba at Murdike, Markaz Ahle Hadith at Barnala and Shwawai Nalla camp at Muzaffarabad – all of LeT, and Makaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot – camps and training centres of Hizbul Mujahideen were targeted in the operation.
Four of these were in Pakistan and five were in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
“A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the defence ministry said in a statement at 1.44 am. The armed forces said that the operation was “focused, measured and non-escalatory” in nature, and no Pakistani military facilities were targeted.
India launched an attack on Pakistan on Wednesday, resulting in at least eight reported deaths. Pakistan described the assault as a “blatant act of war” as tensions escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbours, marking the most severe conflict in over two decades. The air strike by India came after the April 22 attack was attributed to Pakistan-based militants, a claim Pakistan denied.
Intense shelling and heavy gunfire were exchanged across much of the de facto border in Kashmir, according to police and witnesses.
A Pakistani military spokesman reported 35 injuries and two missing persons in addition to the eight fatalities.
