New Delhi: India, on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, carried out a series of airstrikes targeting terrorist camps and training centers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, which houses one of the largest Jaish-e-Mohammad terror hubs.
This is the third strike by the Indian military against Pakistan-based terror facilities in the last nine years, following the surgical strikes in 2016 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the 2019 Balakot airstrike deep inside Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The said strike code named ‘ Operation Sindoor’ started at 1.05 AM and went on till 1.30 AM.
According to official sources, while the use of the military to ‘punish’ Pakistan for spreading terror in India will not happen for now unless Pakistan does anything ‘stupid’ all other economic and diplomatic measures will continue to be pursued by India till its convinced that Pakistan’s terror factories and their backers have been neutralised.
While the immediate reason for this strike was the 22 April massacre of 26 unarmed citizens by Lashkar-e-Taiba cadre, the strike targeted terror infrastructure that Pakistan has systematically built over the past three decades and were used in earlier terror attacks inside India , including recruitment and indoctrination centers, training areas, and launch pads located both in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).
At a government briefing held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofia Qureshi of the Indian Army, and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force presented detailed video footage of the targets to the media. They stated that the selection of targets was based on credible intelligence inputs, with a clear focus on facilities directly involved in perpetrating terror activities. All locations were carefully chosen to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and to prevent any loss of civilian lives.
Significantly, the strikes came even as the country was preparing for its first war related mock drill since 1971 which had given the impression to Pakistan that the inevitable Indian strike will not happen atleast until the mock drills have been completed.
Later, it emerged, which was broken first by the Sunday Guardian, that 14 close members of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s family were killed in the strike. Videos and pictures that later emerged from Pakistan showed members of Pakistan military, in uniform, attending the last rites of these terrorists.
The targeted camps were divided into two, five of them were in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir and those in mainland Pakistan.
According to officials, Indian fighter jets launched missiles in the strikes on these targets without entering Pakistani airspace.
The jets deployed SCALP EG cruise missiles, French-made, long-range, air-launched missiles designed for deep strikes against fortified targets (also known as Storm Shadow in the UK), and AASM Hammer guided bombs, French precision-guided munitions, adaptable for various ranges and target. Some unverified reports suggested that loitering munitions (potentially classified as kamikaze drones) were also deployed, possibly from Rafale jets.
In POJK:
Sawai Nala Camp, Muzaffarabad: A key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) training facility, located 30 km from the Line of Control in the Tangdhar Sector. This camp was linked to attacks on civilians and security forces in Sonmarg (October 20, 2024), Gulmarg (October 24, 2024), and Pahalgam (April 22, 2025).
Syedna Belal Camp, Muzaffarabad: A Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp used as a staging area to train terrorists in weapons, explosives, and jungle survival techniques for activities across the Line of Control in the Kashmir region.
Gulpur Camp, Kotli: Located 30 kilometers from the Line of Control, this was a base for LeT terrorists operating in the Rajouri-Poonch area. Terrorists trained here conducted attacks in Poonch (April 20, 2023) and on pilgrims traveling in a bus (June 9, 2024). Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind, frequently visited this camp.
Abbas Camp, Kotli: Located about 13 kilometers from the Line of Control opposite Rajauri, this was a key center for training LeT suicide bombers, with infrastructure for approximately 50 terrorists.
Barnala Camp, Bhimber: Located 9 km from the Line of Control opposite the Rajouri-Poonch Sector, this camp provided training in weapon handling, IED making, and jungle survival techniques.
In Pakistan:
Sarjal Camp, Sialkot: Located about six kilometers from the International Borders opposite Samba-Kathua. Terrorists who killed four Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel in March 2025 were trained and launched from this camp.
Mehmoona Joya Camp, Sialkot: Located around 12 km from the International Boundary, near Sialkot, this was a key Hizbul Mujahideen training facility. It served as a control center for the revival of terrorism in the Kathua and Jammu region. Major terrorist attacks, including the attack on Pathankot Air Force Base, were planned and directed from this camp.
Markaz Taiba, Muridke: Located around 25 kilometers from the International Boundary, this was the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba, led by Hafiz Saeed. Terrorists trained here were associated with numerous attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The captured Mumbai attackers, Ajmal Kasab, and David Coleman Headley, confessed to receiving training at this camp.
Markaz Subhan, Bahawalpur: Located around 100 km from the International Boundary, this was the headquarters of JeM. The camp was used for recruitment, training, and indoctrination of JeM terrorists. Terrorist commanders, including Masood Azhar, frequently visited this facility.
According to sources, the Indian Armed Forces used precision capability and niche technology weapons, with careful selection of warheads to ensure no collateral damage. The point of impact in each target was a specific building or group of buildings. No military establishments were targeted.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Misri, while briefing the media stated that the attack featured close-range headshots, aimed at traumatizing families and sending a violent message and it was the worst civilian casualty in India since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
As per him , the objective of the terror attack was to destabilize normalcy and progress in Jammu and Kashmir, target the tourism sector, which saw 23 million visitors last year and provoke communal tensions across India, something which this newspaper had also reported on 23 April.
Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri stated that the terrorist group claiming responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, The Resistance Front (TRF), is in fact a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as established by Indian intelligence and corroborated in India’s reports to the United Nations’ 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024. “We had provided clear inputs to the UN about the TRF’s role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist outfits,” Misri noted. He further revealed that eyewitness testimonies and intelligence gathering had allowed authorities to identify the attackers and trace their links to Pakistan.
Elaborating on Pakistan’s role, Misri asserted, “It is well known that Pakistan continues to harbor and support terrorists,” emphasizing that the TRF was even referenced in the April 25 UN Security Council press statement despite Pakistan’s efforts to have it removed. As a striking example of Pakistan’s duplicity, he cited the case of Sajid Mir, who was previously declared dead by Pakistan but was later found alive and arrested only after sustained international pressure.
Commenting on India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Misri said that India exercised its right to respond, to pre-empt, and to deter more such cross-border attacks” while describing Operation Sindoor as a measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible military action focused on dismantling terrorist infrastructure and neutralizing threats from terrorists poised to be sent across the border.
“Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. There was thus a compulsion both to deter and to pre-empt,” he added.
Placing the operation in a broader global context, Misri highlighted the 25 April 25 2025 UN Security Council press statement, which underscored “the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.” He emphasized that India’s actions should be seen within this framework, reinforcing the country’s legitimate right to self-defense in the face of persistent cross-border threats.