India commences Operation Sindoor, with aim to target terrorist camps in Pakistan
Selecting nine terrorist-linked locations to target in Pakistan — and avoiding Pakistani military installations to avoid escalation, per defence minister Rajnath Singh — India has commenced Operation Sindoor at around 2 a.m. on 7 May, in retaliation against the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, including one Nepali citizen.
A defence ministry statement said, "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 Indian Army, posted an image that read Operation Sindoor with the text: #PahalgamTerrorAttack. Justice is Served. Jai Hind!”
The Pakistan Army said that missiles fired by India targeted Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Bahawalpur in Punjab province.
Some time ago, India launched air strikes on the Subhanullah mosque in Bahwalpur's Ahmed East area, Kotli and Muzaffarabad at three places from the air, he told ARY News channel.
"All of our air force jets are airborne. This cowardly and shameful attack was carried out from within India's airspace. They were never allowed to come and intrude into the space of Pakistan,” he said.
“Let me say it unequivocally: Pakistan will respond to this at a time and place of its own choosing. This heinous provocation will not go unanswered,” he added.
He said that damage assessments are being done and more information will be provided later.
This "temporary happiness" that India has achieved with this attack will be replaced with enduring grief, he added. Officials later said that the Indian strikes targeted five places in Kotli, Muzaffarabad, and Bagh in PoK and in the Bahawalpur and Muridke areas of Punjab.
According to Pakistan army, the strike resulted in the killing of a child while a woman and a man sustained serious injuries in the attack at the mosque in Ahmadpur Sharqia area of Bahawalpur. Pakistan has closed its airspace for all air traffic for 48 hours.
Congress and other INDIA bloc parties, including the RJD, reiterated their support for the government.
