Operation Sindoor: The key terror targets India hit in its opening minutes

Operation Sindoor, an operation carried out by the Indian armed forces in response to the cold-blooded killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir. The operation marked a decisive phase in India’s counter‑terror campaign. The operation combined precision air strikes with coordinated artillery and drone strikes to dismantle terror infrastructure across the Punjab province across the border, as well as in Pakistan‑occupied Kashmir. The targets represented the operational backbone of groups such as the Jaish‑e‑Mohammad and Lashkar‑e‑Taiba.

On May 7, when India struck back, the targets had been carefully selected to severely disrupt Pakistan's terror infrastructure. Air Marshal AK Bharti, the then DG Air Operations (DGAO) said, "With absolute clarity of action, a successful joint operation was launched to destroy the terror infrastructure in POJK as well as in Pakistan itself. And when that first weapon hit the target on the early morning of 7 May 2025, that decisive flash was the strength and the resolve of the people of India being projected into the enemy heartland".





This was the first time that the Indian Air Force struck targets in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The air force struck targets in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan during the 2019 Balakote air strike. This time around, the three services formulated a joint plan to strike multiple terror targets that were long considered safe havens by the terrorists.

The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during Operation Sindoor, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said, "Operation Sindoor was also a joint tri-service effort. It integrated land, air and maritime capabilities with shared situational awareness, common operation and intelligence pictures and real-time decision making. Standoff precision strikes, nine in all, seven executed by the Indian army and two by the Indian Air Force, were timed to perfection, achieved total surprise and inflicted maximum damage in each established hub deep in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and heartland Pakistan, signalling that no sanctuary is safe".


Indian Air Force fighter aircraft destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammad headquarters at Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur and the Lashkar‑e‑Taiba headquarters in Muridke with missiles. Of these targets, the Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke was hit by Crystal Maze precision-guided munitions, while the Markaz Subhan Allah, which is much deeper inside Pakistan, was hit by SCALP air-launched cruise missiles, according to the Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Both these targets are located in the Punjab province of Pakistan.


The next two targets hit were in the Sialkot district of Punjab: terror facilities in Sarjal and Mehmoona Joya. The Sarjal facility served as both a logistics hub and a safe house, while the Mehmoona Joya location was a training facility linked to the Pathankot terror attack, as per another ORF report. These two facilities were taken out by the Indian Army

Sawai Nala, located 30 km from the LoC in POK, functioned as a training establishment for terrorists. Militants who took part in the Sonamarg (2024), Gulmarg (2024) and Pahalgam terror attacks trained here. These facilities were hit by the army.


Other terror locations in POK, such as Barnala, Abbas, Gulpur and Syedna Bilal, using drones and artillery during the initial few minutes of Operation Sindoor.


Symbolically, the raid demonstrated India's commitment to destroy India's e Operation Sindoor’s post‑strike phase underscores that while kinetic operations have paused, the strategic and psychological dimensions remain active. The dismantling of terror infrastructure has reduced immediate threats, but the information and diplomatic battles continue. The operation demonstrates India’s doctrine of precision strikes, escalation control and narrative dominance in counter‑terror campaigns.