New Delhi: With two more rounds remaining before the general elections comes to an end, an Italian journalist has claimed that the Balakot air strike in February had killed between 130 and 170 Jaish-e-Mohammed cadre.
This is the first time that the international press has acknowledged the elimination of JeM terrorists in the airstrike on February 26 following the terror attack in Pulwama. The disclosure could give the BJP an edge in the last two rounds of the Lok Sabha polls and silence the opposition, which has doubted the success of the mission.
1. The journalist, Francesca Marino has claimed that some had died later during treatment, and 45 people were still undergoing treatment after the attack.
2. In her blogpost on Tuesday, Marino claimed she had gathered the information from her sources, despite “Pakistan’s efforts to deceive the world on the Indian airstrikes” on the Jaish-e-Mohammed camp.
3. “According to my information, an Army unit, from their camp in Shinkiari, arrived at the location of the strike on February 26 at around 6 am, two-and-a-half hours later,” she claimed. “Shinkiari is around 20 km away from Balakot… (and) is also a base of the Pakistan Army, with the Junior Leaders Academy (JLA) located there.”
4. “Local sources say 45 persons are still undergoing treatment in this camp, while 20 have died during treatment due to serious injuries. Those who have recovered are still in custody of the Army and have not been discharged,” she claimed.
5. Marino’s blog post also claimed that two of the trainers were from Afghanistan and to prevent news on the fatalities leaking through statements of family members, a group of JeM members visited the families of those killed and handed over cash compensation to them.
