New Delhi: Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are said to have carried out the strike on terror bases in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan in the wee hours of Wednesday. The fighter jets used SCALP cruise missiles and precision-guided AASM Hammer stand-off bombs during Operation Sindoor.
Both weapons were fired by the fighter jets while they were well within Indian airspace. There was support from Indian Navy assets, making it a coordinated operation. Videos emerging from Pakistan reveal multiple explosions at each site, indicating that several multiple missiles and bombs were used.
There is also the possibility of the Indian Army pitching in with a few missiles of its own. The locations targetted were Bahawalpur, Muridke, Gulpur, Bhimber, Chak Amru, Bagh, Kotli, Sialkot and Muzaffarabad.
The main aim was to eliminate the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Muridke. Officials confirmed that PM Narendra Modi continuously monitored this operation from 7, Lok Kalyan Marg with NSA Ajit Doval providing necessary briefing.
Muzaffarabad, located near the Line of Control (LoC) in PoK, has long served as a strategic base for:the LeT, hosting training camps and operational centres. The Hammer munitions were likely used against this target. Muridke, about 30 km from Lahore, is the headquarters of LeT and its founder Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. SCALP missiles may have targeted this base.
Bahawalpur houses the active infrastructure of the JeM. Intelligence reports indicate multiple strikes were carried out there, including on the group’s headquarters where Rauf Asghar recently met Hamas commander Khalid Qayoumi recently. This meeting was held just days before the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that led to the death of 26 persons, mostly tourists from across India.
