India carried out airstrikes on Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday, killing at least eight and injuring dozens more. Pakistan condemned the assault, calling it an "act of war." The operation—"Operation Sindoor"—hit" nine separate sites at its nuclear-armed South Asian neighbor Pakistan using precision-guided weapons, including drones.
On Wednesday morning, fighter jets roared across the skies above the Himalayan region, with loud blasts echoing near the area known as the Line of Control. The strikes were aimed at areas "where terrorist attacks against India have been planned," the Indian military said. Pakistani officials reported that the airstrikes caused eight deaths and left 38 others injured.
India Retaliates with Airstrikes
Among the dead were five civilians who lost their lives in Ahmedpur East, located in Punjab province. "A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces 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 Indian government confirmed the airstrikes in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Indian army said that no Pakistani military installations were attacked, noting that India had shown "considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution."
"Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given," Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.
In response to the airstrikes, Pakistani forces opened fire without discretion across the border into Indian-administered Kashmir, killing three civilians, according to the Indian army.
Pakistan also claimed to have downed up to five Indian aircraft, including fighter jets, though the Indian military had not verified those claims as of Tuesday night.
One of the aircraft reportedly crashed into a school building on the outskirts of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. In response, the Indian army suspended all civilian flights into Srinagar on Tuesday night.
"The entire nation stands with the Pakistani armed forces, and the morale and spirit of the entire Pakistani nation are high," Sharif posted on X, claiming only five locations were targeted.
Beginning of a Bigger Conflict
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi oversaw the military operation, though he has not made any public statement about it so far. The airstrikes targeted cities such as Ahmedpur East, Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad—the main city in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
India said that it had struck the main bases of the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.
A spokesperson for the Pakistani military told Geo News that two mosques were blown up by Indian forces, refuting India's claim that only terrorist sites were targeted. Following the air raids, power outages were reported in Muzaffarabad, according to witnesses cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have commented on the escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations.
"I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. I echo @POTUS's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump had earlier described the situation as "a shame" and said, "I hope it ends quickly."
The Indian airstrikes were launched in response to a deadly terrorist attack on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir, where 26 people—primarily Hindu men from India—were killed.
India blamed the Pakistani government for supporting the attack, an allegation Pakistan has denied.
The Indian military cheered the operation on X. "Justice is served. Jai Hind!" read a post from the official Indian military account on X, using the patriotic slogan that means "Hail India!"
Just moments before the airstrikes began, the Indian army shared a propaganda-style video on X with the caption, "Ready to Strike, Trained to Win. #IndianArmy."
The name "Operation Sindoor" is inspired by the vermilion powder traditionally worn by married Hindu women, a symbolic tribute to the men who lost their lives in the April 22 terrorist attack.
