New Delhi [India], May 7 (HBTV): The Indian Armed Forces on Wednesday provided detailed insights into Operation Sindoor, a precision strike mission launched to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack.

Addressing a press briefing in the national capital, hours after the targeted strikes, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh outlined the operation’s objectives. A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan, including five in PoK linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), were targeted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi detailed the specific terror camps targeted in PoK. ‘Shawai Nallah Camp in Muzaffarabad is a Lashkar-e-Taiba camp. Terrorists responsible for attacks in Sonamarg on October 20, 2024, Gulmarg on October 24, 2024, and Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, were trained here,’ she said.

She further highlighted the Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad, a Jaish-e-Mohammed staging area described as a ‘weapon, explosive, and jungle training centre’.

Qureshi added that intelligence had identified Gulpur Camp in Kotli, 30 km from the Line of Control (LoC), as an LeT facility linked to the April 20, 2023, Poonch attack and the June 9, 2024, pilgrimage bus attack. Barnala Camp in Bhimber was described as a centre for weapons, IEDs, and jungle survival training, while another Kotli camp, 13 km from the LoC, served as a training site for LeT’s fedayeen with a capacity for 15 terrorists.

‘Gulpur Camp, Kotli, is 30 km away from LoC and was a camp of LeT... Terrorists for the April 20, 2023, and June 9, 2024, pilgrimage bus attacks were trained from here. Barnala Camp, Bhimber, was also a centre for weapons, IEDs and jungle survival training. Kotli, it is 13 km away from the LoC. LeT’s fedayeen used to be trained here with a capacity for 15 terrorists,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh elaborated on the strategic intent of the operation: ‘Operation Sindoor was a retaliation to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 to serve justice to the innocent victims and their families. Nine terror camps were targeted and destroyed.’

She revealed that Pakistan has maintained a complex terror infrastructure for three decades, consisting of 21 recruitment, indoctrination, and launch pad centres across Pakistan and PoK.

‘The targets for Operation Sindoor were based on credible intelligence inputs and locations that were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and loss of civilian lives,’ Singh added, underscoring the precision of the operation.

The strikes, conducted between 1:05 am and 1:30 am on Wednesday, involved a coordinated effort by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, targeting key facilities linked to JeM and LeT in Pakistan as well as in PoK.

(ANI)