The Indian Air Force (IAF) on early Tuesday carried out pre-dawn air strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp across the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed a major terrorist camp.
Around 3:30 am 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force dropped 1,000 kg bombs in a thickly-forested hilltop that has eliminated a large number of terrorists.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale today said that the strikes were carried out on “the biggest training camp in Balakot”, which he said was being run by Maulana Yusuf Azhar, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar.
Gokhale said credible intelligence was received that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country and fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose.
A pre-emptive strike became important. India struck the biggest camp of JeM in Balakot, said, Gokhale.
A very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commander and Jihadis were eliminated in this operation, Gokhale added.
