Indian Air Force
India says it launched air strikes against militants in Pakistani territory in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries. The government said strikes targeted a training camp of the Jaish-eMohammad (JeM) group in Balakot. Pakistan said the strikes hit an empty area but vowed to respond. Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been strained since a suicide attack earlier this month that killed more than 40 Indian troops. India accuses Pakistan of allowing militant groups to operate on its territory and says Pakistani security agencies played a role in the 14 February attack - claimed by JeM. Pakistan denies any role and says it does not provide safe haven to militants. Tuesday's air strikes are the first launched across the line of control - the de facto border that divides Indiaadministered Kashmir from Pakistanadministered Kashmir - since a war between the two countries in 1971. What is militant group Jaish-e
Mohammad? Why India and Pakistan dispute Kashmir After Kashmir attack, what are Modi's options? Balakot is in Pakistan's north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Residents there told BBC Urdu they were woken by loud explosions. Pakistan condemned the strike and said it would respond "at the time and place of its choosing".
What does India say happened?
Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told a news conference that the strikes had killed a "large number" of militants, including commanders, and had avoided civilian casualties. "Credible intel [intelligence] was received that JeM was planning more suicide attacks in India. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary," he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not directly mention the air strikes when he addressed a political rally in Rajasthan later on Tuesday but he told cheering crowds: "I understand your enthusiasm and your energy. Today is a day we bow before our heroes." India is due to hold elections by the end of May.
How has Pakistan responded?
Pakistan's army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said the strikes caused no casualties. He tweeted that Pakistani jets were scrambled and forced the Indian planes to make a "hasty withdrawal", dropping their payload in an open area. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan later chaired an urgent meeting of national security chiefs and condemned "irresponsible Indian policy". "Once again [the] Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim," a statement issued after the meeting said. "This action has been done for domestic consumption, being in an election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk."
India's 'surgical strikes' in Kashmir
Meanwhile, residents in several towns near Balakot reported hearing explosions early on Tuesday. Mohammad Adil, a farmer in Jaba village, told BBC Urdu he and his family were woken at about 03:00 by "a huge explosion". "Then we heard jets flying over. We went to the place in the morning.
There was a huge crater and four or five houses were destroyed," he said.
Mirage 2000: The plane that destroyed Pakistan terror camps
In the early hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control. India Strikes Terror Camps In Pakistan A fleet of Mirage 2000 deeppenetration fighter jets assisted by other assets of the Indian Air Force carried out the pre-dawn strike on the biggest terror camp of the Jaish-eMohammed terror outfit in Pakistan, government sources said. Sources said the Mirage 2000 multirole aircraft was chosen for the strike for its capability to hit targets with “pin-point” accuracy. India currently has around three squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighter jets manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation. The squadrons are based in Gwalior. The Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine fighter jet which is capable of dropping a range of bombs and missiles including laser-guided bombs. The Mirage 2000s are fitted with Thales RDY 2 radar which can strike at targets with 100 per cent accuracy, said an IAF official on condition of anonymity. The aircraft was preferred as it is capable of long-range engagement of targets and the assessment was that it can record 100 per cent success rate. India had inducted the Mirage jets around 30 years back and they are being upgraded at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore. The sources said India will have a much wider choice of aircraft to carry out precision strikes when Rafale jets are inducted into the IAF as they are capable of hitting targets at longer range. India is procuring 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore and the first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in September. It is not clear whether the fleet of Mirage 2000s flew directly from Gwalior or they took off from other bases to carry out the strike. In a statement, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot and that a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.