Operation Sindoor Highlights: Explosions heard near LoC in J&K's Rajouri and Poonch

Operation Sindoor Highlights: In a joint briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs and security forces, India stated again that the Pahalgam terror attack was the starting point of the recent tensions with Pakistan.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "First of all, there is mention on all sides of escalation. I think the first point that you have to keep in mind is that the attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was the original escalation, and the Indian Armed Forces only replied to that escalation on May 7."

"I want to invite your attention to the involvement of the group called The Resistance Front in this attack. I pointed this out yesterday that this a group that is a known front for a well-known Pakistan-based organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group has been reported earlier," he added.

The Indian Armed Forces successfully countered Pakistani military's attempts to strike numerous military installations across Northern and Western India using drones and missiles during the night, whilst destroying their air defence system in Lahore, as confirmed by officials on Thursday.

Pakistani forces attempted strikes on multiple locations including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj. The defence ministry confirmed that these attacks were neutralised through the Integrated Counter Unmanned Aircraft System. Evidence of these Pakistani attacks is being collected from various impact sites.

The Indian Air Force deployed S-400 Sudarshan Chakra air defence missile systems overnight to counter incoming threats, successfully neutralising the targets.

"Today morning Indian armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan," stated the ministry's readout, noting the neutralisation of an air defence system in Lahore.

Intelligence sources revealed that over 100 terrorists were eliminated through precision strikes conducted early Wednesday. The ongoing operation, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, makes precise casualty assessment challenging at present.

The Indian Armed Forces launched precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Wednesday as part of 'Operation Sindoor'. The tri-service operation targeted nine locations across both regions. Four strikes were conducted in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot, while five were carried out in PoK. The military action aimed to eliminate leaders of terrorist organizations Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), who were responsible for planning and executing attacks in India, including the Pahalgam attack.

Why did the Indian army target these nine sites?

The Indian Air Force executed precision strikes on four locations within Pakistan's territory and five targets in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. "These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered," stated the Defence Ministry. The operation was "focused, measured and non-escalatory" and avoided any Pakistani military facilities. The military action targeted terrorist infrastructure while specifically avoiding Pakistani military installations. The operation was carried out in response to the Pahalgam attack that claimed multiple civilian lives.

What has been the impact of 'Operation Sindoor'?

Multiple videos circulating on social media captured the operation's impact. Footage showed massive explosions with orange fireballs and thick smoke clouds, while other videos depicted civilians gathering on streets with visible explosions in the distance. A dashboard camera also recorded secondary explosions near police checkpoints.