New Delhi| WTNS | May 07:India’s Army and Air Force has launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir, prompting swift retaliation from Islamabad in the worst fighting in more than two decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours as fears of a wider, prolonged war grow.

The strikes, which lasted from 1:05 AM to 1:30 AM on May 7, were carried out jointly by the Indian Army and Air Force under the codename Operation Sindoor.

India struck the Markaz Subhan Allah – the key headquarters and training camp of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – in Bahawalpur, reducing the facility to rubble, marking a significant moment in India’s counter-terror operation codenamed Operation Sindoor.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that India had “credible leads” and, eyewitness accounts that identified the terrorists and evidence towards the involvement of Pakistan-based terror groups, and that those were the targets.

It took just 25 minutes for India to unleash 24 missiles that struck nine terror camps and killed 70 terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes, which lasted from 1:05 AM to 1:30 AM on May 7, were carried out jointly by the Indian Army and the Air Force under the codename Operation Sindoor.

Press Briefing in New Delhi

At a press briefing in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, flanked by Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, said the operation was a “measured and proportionate” response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. That assault, attributed to Pakistan-based terror groups, claimed the lives of 26 people, including one Nepali national, and left many others injured.

Colonel Qureshi said that the operation marked a shift in strategy. “For the last three decades, Pakistan has been constructing terror infrastructure, including recruitment centres, training areas, and launch pads across PoJK and Pakistan. This operation was intended to dismantle those facilities and prevent future attacks,” she said.

“Our intelligence indicated that further attacks against India are impending. Thus, compulsion, both to deter and prevent and hence earlier this morning, India exercised its right to respond to deter such more cross-border terrorism… Our actions were measured and non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible. They focused on dismantling terrorists’ infrastructure,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Strikes And Locations

The missile strikes targeted facilities in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal, all areas long suspected by intelligence agencies of harbouring terrorist camps. These sites were believed to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), two terror groups responsible for multiple attacks in India over the years.

Of the nine locations hit, five were in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and four were within mainland Pakistan. Bahawalpur, notably, has been a known stronghold of JeM. Muzaffarabad and Bhimber had previously been identified by Indian security agencies as transit and logistics points for infiltration into Kashmir.

According to a statement by the government, all strikes achieved their objectives. UAV reconnaissance confirmed the destruction of command centres, training camps, arms depots, and staging facilities. While the operation was extensive, no Pakistani military installations were targeted.

Scale of Damage

Over 70 terrorists were killed, and more than 60 sustained injuries. The strikes were carried out using a mix of ground-launched and air-launched missiles. Real-time monitoring via surveillance drones allowed confirmation of target destruction with minimal civilian casualties, government sources said.

Precision-guided munitions, including laser-designated missiles and satellite-guided glide bombs, were used to ensure high strike accuracy and avoid collateral damage. Missiles were launched from air and land platforms in a synchronised pattern, with multiple warheads striking simultaneously to neutralise the terror camps.