India jets cross Line of Control to bomb terror camps in disputed Kashmir territory: report
Indian jets have crossed the Line of Control to bomb terror camps in disputed Kashmir region in a major escalation of tension with nuclear rival Pakistan.
The bombings carried out around 3:30am Tuesday prompted Pakistan to raise allegations of airspace violation.
Twelve Mirage jets dropped 1,000 kg laser-guided bombs on camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, reported the ANI, quoting sources in the Indian Air Force.
The Pakistan-based militant group had claimed responsibility for killing 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir in a suicide attack on Feb 14.
While the Indian military denied knowledge of the bombings, a minister of the Indian government has confirmed the air strikes inside Pakistan.
"Air Force carried out aerial strike early morning today at terror camps across the LoC and completely destroyed it," said Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the minister of state for agriculture, on Twitter.
Pakistan's military earlier said that Indian military aircraft crossed the frontier and "released a payload" after Pakistan scrambled its own jets, but there were no casualties or damage.
But India's defence ministry said that it had no information about Pakistani allegations that Indian aircraft violated Pakistani airspace.
The confrontation follows escalating tensions since the suicide attack on Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. 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 50 km (31 miles) from the Line of Control, 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.