The Indian military on Wednesday carried out strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the defence ministry said.

Nine sites were targeted by the Indian armed forces as part of Operation Sindoor, the ministry said.

Twenty-six 26 Pakistanis were killed in India’s strike, reported AFP. During a press conference earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry stated that at least 35 persons were injured, reported The Print.

According to Chaudhry, the strikes primarily hit civilian infrastructure, including mosques and residential quarters.

Eight Indians were killed and 26 injured in Jammu and Kashmir because of shelling by Pakistani forces following the strike, Poonch’s revenue officer Azhar Majid told AFP.

India’s defence ministry said its military’s actions were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.

“No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted,” said the ministry. “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and methods in Pakistan.”

“We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for the attack will be held accountable,” it added.

The Indian Army’s additional directorate general of public information said that “justice is served”.

Pakistan acknowledged that India had carried out the strikes.

The country’s deputy prime minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on social media that the Indian Air Force “while remaining in Indian air space” had targeted sites across the international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across the Line of Control in Kotli and Muzzafarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistani forces had “every right to respond forcefully” and that a “forceful response is being given”.

Pakistan also claimed that it had shot down three of India’s military planes, reported Reuters. India has not confirmed the claim, nor has it been verified independently.

Later in the day, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the Indian Army conducted a “precision strike on terrorist camps” and “eliminated” nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The party said the camps that were targeted are Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, Markaz Taiba in Muridke, Sarjal/Tehra in Kalan, Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala, Markaz Abbas and Maskar Raheel Shahid in Kotli, Shawai Nalla in Muzaffarabad and Markaz Syedna in Bilal.

While the headquarters of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba is in Muridke, Jaish-e-Mohammed has its base in Bahawalpur.

Hours after the strikes, Pakistan violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control by firing artillery in Poonch-Rajauri area’s Bhimber Gali area, the Indian Army said, adding that it had responded in a calibrated manner.

An ambulance leaves from the Government Health and Educational Complex in Muridke, about 30 km from Lahore on May 7. Credit: Arif Ali/AFP

The terror attack at the Baisaran area near Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

After India’s announcement of the strikes, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged India and Pakistan to exercise “maximum restraint”.

“The world cannot afford a confrontation between the two countries,” he said, through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was monitoring the situation closely. He said on social media that he echoed US President Donald Trump’s comments “that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution”.

India and Pakistan had fired tit-for-tat diplomatic salvoes at each other following the terror attack, such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and bilateral trade, and expelling diplomats. Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control for 12 consecutive days, promoting retaliation from the Indian Army.

The strikes came hours ahead of India conducting drills for civil defence in several states on Wednesday. The exercise will involve testing air raid sirens, training civilians and students to protect themselves, blackout procedures, camouflaging key sites and practicing revised evacuation plans in case of a “hostile event”.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as new details become available.

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