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India
After four intense days of heavy military exchanges, the United States helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, pausing a dangerous conflict that had pushed both nuclear-armed nations to the edge of war. The fighting began after India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, a direct military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.
While the ceasefire has reduced immediate hostilities, reports from the Line of Control (LoC) suggest Pakistan may have violated the truce in some areas. Still, officials say the pause in fighting has, for now, prevented a much larger conflict.
India Hits Terror Camps and Military Sites in Operation Sindoor
The Indian military began Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 with a series of precise and swift strikes. In just 26 minutes, Indian forces destroyed nine terrorist camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). These targets were carefully chosen based on intelligence, officials said.
“We smashed the terror infrastructure there, hit their air defences and targeted several of their airbases. The Indian forces had a good run during the last four days. Pakistan’s counter-offensive was mostly thwarted,” a senior Indian official told reporters, requesting anonymity.
According to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, nearly 100 terrorists were killed in the operation—a number he shared while briefing political leaders.
Powerful Weapons Used, Deep Strikes Carried Out
The strikes were carried out using advanced weaponry, including Rafale jets equipped with SCALP cruise missiles and Hammer precision bombs, as well as M777 howitzers loaded with Excalibur rounds and kamikaze drones (loitering munitions). These hits deeply unsettled Pakistan’s military readiness.
The targets included terror camps as far as 100 km inside Pakistan’s borders and as close as 9 km within PoK. India’s action clearly showed its ability to strike deep into enemy territory while keeping the operation focused on terrorist infrastructure, not civilian or unrelated military targets.
Pakistan’s Counterattack Fails to Match India’s Preparedness
On the night of May 8–9, Pakistan tried to retaliate by launching 300–400 armed drones, most of Turkish origin (Asisguard Songar models), aimed at 36 locations across India—from Leh and Jammu in the north to Sir Creek in the west. Indian air defences intercepted and neutralized the majority of these threats using S-400 Triumf missiles, Akash SAMs, Barak 8 systems, and a range of anti-drone technologies.
A second wave of attacks from Pakistan followed the next day, this time targeting 26 locations. Once again, Indian defence forces acted swiftly and brought down most of the drones before they could cause damage.
IAF Launches Retaliatory Strikes on Military Sites in Pakistan
In response to Pakistan’s increasing aggression—especially its use of fighter jets, missiles, and UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) to target Indian military and civilian areas—the Indian Air Force carried out a powerful retaliatory attack in the early hours of May 10.
Eight key military installations in Pakistan were hit, including airbases and radar stations in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, and Sialkot. Indian forces targeted technical sites, command centers, radar units, and ammunition depots in the most intense single-night military exchange of the conflict.
Damage to Pakistan: “Heavy and Unsustainable,” Says IAF
Briefing the media after the ceasefire was announced, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh highlighted the scale of damage inflicted on Pakistan.
“There has been extensive damage to crucial Pakistani airbases like Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad and Bholari. Also, loss of air defence weapons and radars made the defence of Pakistani airspace untenable. Across the LoC, extensive and precise damage to military infrastructure, command and control centres and logistics installations led to a complete breakdown of its defensive and offensive capabilities,” she said.
