New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 across nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), left more than 100 terrorists killed including Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudassar Ahmad, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference along with DG Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and DG Naval Operations Vice Admiral A Pramod, Lt Gen Ghai said among the killed terrorists those involved in the hijack of IC 814 in 1999 and the 2019 Pulwama blasts.
He said, "Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a clear military aim to punish the perpetrators and planners of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure. What I do not state here of course is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror".
He said that the nine terror camps present in Punjab Pakistan and POJK confirmed the presence of terrorists by the intelligence agencies. Nefarious places in Muridke, the hub centres of LeT, has over the years bred infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and the likes of David Headley.
On the night of May 8 and 9, the DGMO said, "Pakistan flew drones and aircraft into our airspace all across the borders and largely made unsuccessful attempts to target several military infrastructure".
He said on land certain measures such as deployment of air defence and electronic warfare assets to establish integrated grid with the Indian Air Force were undertaken.
DG Air Ops, Air Marshal AK Bharti, said the IAF played a major role in these strikes. "Following relentless attacks on airbases, forward posts and on our civilian targets, this was the time to convey some message to our adversaries. A decision was taken to strike where it will hurt," he said.
"In a swift and coordinated attack, we struck its air bases, command centres, military infrastructure, and air defence systems across the Western front. The bases include Chaklala, Rafiqui, and Rahim Yar Khan - sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by the strike at Sargodha, Jacobabad," the Air Marshal said.
He said, "The targets given to the IAF were some of the notorious training camps at Bahawalpur and Muridke. These are further from the international boundary. Through critical target system analysis, we analysed what was to be done to annihilate these targets and (prepared a) plan to engage these targets with precision air-to-surface guided munitions so as to avoid collateral damage".
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral A Pramod said that after the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Navy's Carrier Battle Group, surface forces, submarines and aviation assets were immediately deployed at sea with full combat readiness in consultation with joint operation plan of the Indian defence forces. UNI RBE SSP