India struck nine terrorist bases in Pakistan during the early hours of Wednesday after repeatedly vowing a befitting response to the deadly Pahalgam attack. Operation Sindoor was undertaken jointly by the Indian Army and the Air Force using precision strike weapons soon after midnight. An official statement said the attacks had been “focused, measured, and non-escalatory” and deliberately avoided any Pakistani military installations.
Details about the terror installations that were stuck on Wednesday remain scarce at present — with Indian authorities noting that they had been spread across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Sources told news agency PTI that India had struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bhawalpur and the Lashker-e-Taiba headquarters in Murdike, both in the Punjab province of Pakistan. All nine targets were reportedly neutralised — with PM Modi monitoring the operation closely through the night.
Sources told ANI that four of the nine targets were in Pakistan while five were in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The targets in Pakistan include Bahawalpur, Muridke and Sialkot. Special precision munitions were used to target the terror camps. The three services jointly carried out the operation and mobilisation of assets and troops.
Meanwhile Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that India had attacked five locations in the country and the country’s Army spokesperson said three locations — Bhawalpur, Kotli and Muzzafarabad — had been struck by Indian missiles.
“Some time ago from now, India launched air strikes on Subhanullah mosque in Bahwalpur’s Ahmed East area, Kotli and Muzaffarabad at three places from the air,” said Pakistani Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.
Unverified initial reports had also claimed that the Gulpur, Bhimber, Sialkot and Chak Amru areas were struck by the precision missiles launched by India.
Bahawalpur became the hub of the JeM terror group after the release of Masood Azhar in exchange for the hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999. The group has since then been involved in a series of terror strikes in India, including the Parliament attack in 2001. Muridke, 30 km from Lahore, has been the headquarters of the LeT since 1990. It is headed by Hafiz Saeed and responsible for the 26/11 terror siege of Mumbai.
Strikes carried out from Indian soil
The coordinates for the attacks were reportedly provided by intelligence agencies, and the strikes were carried out entirely from Indian soil. Sources told ANI that Indian forces had selected these locations with the intent of targeting key Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba leadership, responsible for sponsoring terrorism in India. India had used loitering munition for the attack — a type of precision weapon that hovers over a target area to locate and strike targets, often autonomously or under human control, before being expended.
(With inputs from agencies)