Indian military aircraft "release payload" near Pakistan border
Pakistan says Indian military aircraft crossed into its territory in the disputed Kashmir region and "released a payload" tonight.
There are wildly conflicting reports on the level of damage involved in the strike, with Pakistan claiming there was neither casualties nor damage, while CNN reports 200 to 300 people were injured.
CNN News 18 further claims, citing defence sources, the strike was against a terror camp and was carried out by a dozen Mirage 2000 jets dropping 1000kg bombs.
The details have yet to confirmed.
The confrontation follows escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals since the February 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir, when 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed by a Pakistani-based militant group.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad, which denies having a role in the attack.
"Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector," Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter early on Tuesday, referring to an area in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir.
Ghafoor said "facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force", the Indian aircraft "released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage."
Balakot, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, is about 30 miles from the Line of Control (LoC), which acts as a de facto border between the two countries that have fought three wars since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
India’s defence ministry said it had no information about Pakastan’s claims.
Shelling across the Kashmiri Line of Control has frequently occurred over the last few years, while tensions between the neighbours have been simmering, but airspace violations are rare.
In 2016, following another large attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir, New Delhi said its troops crossed the LoC and
carried out a "surgical strike" on suspected militant camps across the border in Pakistan Kashmir.
Islamabad denied anything serious occurred.
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