Seventy terrorists were killed as India carried out 24 missile strikes across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, sources in the government have said. Operation Sindoor, the sources said, was more than a military response. “It was a statement of strategic resolve. Through 24 precisely coordinated missile strikes across nine terrorist-linked locations, India demonstrated that it would no longer tolerate cross-border terrorism, nor the complicity of state institutions that enable it,” a source said.
The counterstrike left more than 60 terrorists injured across the nine target locations — Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal.
These locations, the sources said, were identified as hubs of terrorist activity. The precision missiles targeted camps affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The sources said the counterattack has significantly degraded the operational capability of these terror groups.
Pakistan has said at least 9 civilians died, 38 were injured and two are missing. The collateral damage, Indian government sources said, was “minimised through precision targeting”. No Pakistani military installations were hit, they stressed.
Sources in the government said Indian intelligence had cited clear evidence of the Pakistan Army’s logistical support to terror groups. The strikes aimed to expose and dismantle this deep-rooted nexus between the military and cross-border terrorism, they said.
Government sources said that while global powers had urged both sides to exercise restraint, India has received support for its right to self-defence.
The sources said each of the targeted locations had long been monitored by Indian intelligence and found to harbour extremist elements, functioning as operational bases, or facilitating terrorist movement.
“The selection of these targets reflected a sophisticated integration of satellite surveillance, human intelligence, and intercepted communication that identified specific buildings and compounds associated with groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Unlike past responses that were often limited in scale and scope, Operation Sindoor was remarkable for its expansive footprint and precision. The use of high-accuracy standoff weapons ensured minimal collateral damage and surgical impact on intended targets,” a source said.
The way the operation was carried out, the sources said, underscored India’s effort to distinguish between anti-terror operations and full-scale military aggression. “The operational timeline was swift. Within less than an hour, all missiles had struck their designated targets. The strikes were synchronised to avoid detection and maximise the element of surprise. Real-time footage from UAVs confirmed the destruction of target facilities. The decision to target deep into Pakistani-administered territory was a departure from prior doctrine and marked a new level of strategic assertiveness,” the source said.
Among the terrorists killed are mid- to high-ranking field commanders affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, defence sources have said. “These included trainers and logistics officers who had been operating with impunity in the relative safety of Pakistan-administered territory. Intelligence assessments post-operation indicated that key communication nodes were also taken out. This disrupted not only the groups’ operational planning but also their ability to coordinate sleeper cells within India. Several of the destroyed camps were known to be staging grounds for recent infiltrations along the Line of Control,” a government source said.
Indian officials have expressed regret for civilian casualties but stressed that all sites targeted were carefully vetted and directly linked to terrorist activity. Terrorist groups, the sources said, often embed their facilities in densely populated civilian areas, complicating any effort to avoid non-combatant casualties completely. The sources said that while India exercised restraint, Pakistan’s narrative was aimed at inflating the civilian impact to gain international sympathy.
