New Delhi [India]: India carried out its most significant cross-border military action in more than 50 years on Wednesday, launching deep strikes inside Pakistan’s undisputed territory, CNN reported. This marks the deepest Indian military incursion since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
According to CNN, Pakistan claimed that five locations were targeted by Indian forces—three in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and two in Punjab province, specifically Ahmadpur East and Muridke.
However, sources told media that the Indian Armed Forces struck a total of nine terror sites. Of these, four were in Pakistan—including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot—and five in PoJK. The strikes were conducted using precision munitions and Kamikaze drones, in what officials called a coordinated tri-service operation.
The offensive, codenamed Operation Sindoor, was jointly executed by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force with significant mobilisation of military assets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitored the entire operation through the night, sources confirmed. All nine targets were successfully neutralised.
Indian forces carefully selected these sites to eliminate top leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)—terrorist groups responsible for plotting attacks on Indian soil.
CNN also referenced India’s 2019 airstrikes in Balakot, which were carried out in response to the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed over 40 Indian paramilitary personnel. However, the current strikes go deeper into Pakistan’s undisputed territory, making them the most extensive since the 1971 conflict.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Defence declared:
“In the early hours of Wednesday, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
The ministry emphasized the targeted and restrained nature of the strikes:
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution.”
The strikes were carried out in direct retaliation for the recent “barbaric” terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which resulted in the deaths of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. The Indian government reiterated its commitment to bringing those responsible to justice.
The operation used precision strike systems from all three military branches, including loitering munitions, with intelligence agencies supplying exact coordinates. Notably, all strikes were launched from within Indian territory.