India Strikes Back: IAF's successful operation lauded by politicians
In a huge overnight operation, Indian Air Force completely destroyed terror camps in Pakistan days after Jaish-e-Mohammed executed the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF soldiers were martyred. The IAF used 12 Mirage 2000 jets to drop nearly 1,000 kgs of explosives at 3:30 AM on Tuesday. The successful operation was lauded unanimously by political leaders across the spectrum. Here's what happened.
IAF jets went deep into Pakistan's territory to destroy camps
Jaish camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad were attacked with precision using 1,000 kg laser-guided bombs, claimed reports. Notably, Balakot isn't in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir implying that IAF jets went deep into Pakistan's territory to kill the terrorists. While no official number has been revealed yet, the casualties could be somewhere around 200-300. The attack was absolutely successful, said sources.
Rahul Gandhi salutes IAF after operation
Before IAF or Defense Ministry could confirm the series of events, social media went abuzz with reactions. Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted that he salutes the IAF. Odisha leader Baijayant Jay Pandya reminded that Jaish, despite being banned, carried out terror activities. "Hitting #JeM in #Balakot is smthg Pak shd've done itself. #IAF doing so is self-defence & long, long overdue (sic)," he added.
Check out RaGa's tweet here
Shivraj Singh Chouhan is proud of IAF
Speaking to a news channel, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan lauded the "determination" of IAF. He reminded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said India would not sit silently if anyone tried to destabilize the nation.
Desh jhukega nai: BJP minister confirms the attack
Left red-faced, Pakistan releases pictures of "retaliation"
Notably, the Air Force was put on high alert to respond to any retaliation from the bitter neighbor. A rattled Pakistan acknowledged the attack by releasing pictures of IAF "intrusion". Earlier today Pakistani Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted IAF faced "timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force, released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot."
