Indian military strikes at heart of Pakistan’s terror infrastructure

Striking at the heart of Pakistan’s terror infrastructure, Indian jets early on Wednesday (May 7) hit training camps, launch pads and headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) without breaching Pakistani airspace, officials said.

A large number of terrorists were present at the nine high-value sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) when the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched a major response to the Pahalgam massacre using night cover.

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Operation Sindoor

Codenamed Operation Sindoor, the sites included the JeM’s sprawling headquarters at Bahawalpur deep inside Pakistan and the LeT's in Muridke, both in Pakistani Punjab.

The retaliatory action follows the massacre of 25 male tourists, gunned down in front of their families, and a Kashmiri guide at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.

The armed forces chose four targets in Pakistan and five in PoK based on credible intelligence where terrorist camps operated camouflaged as health centres to evade detection and circumvent sanctions from global organisations, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

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Pakistani admission

A Pakistani military spokesperson told BBC that the IAF had targeted Bahawalpur and Muridke.

LeT’s nerve centre in Muridke, about 30 km from Lahore, was hit four times in quick succession, officials said.

Muridke, the terror group’s base since 1990, is where Ajmal Kasab and nine other terrorists were trained ahead of the 26/11 terrorist siege of Mumbai which left 166 Indians and foreigners dead.

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Osama and Muridke

Besides, 26/11 accused David Headley and Tahawwur Rana — now in Indian custody — also visited the LeT hub.

Al Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden, killed in 2011 in Pakistan’s Abbotabad town, had donated Rs 10 lakhs to build a guesthouse at Muridke.

Headed by Hafiz Saeed, the LeT has carried out terror strikes in many other parts of India including Jammu and Kashmir, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

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LeT hub

The Markaz (centre) Taiba at Muridke is the most important training centre for the LeT.

According to officials, this is where recruits are brainwashed, given physical training and a two-week-long indoctrination course.

Around 1,000 students in different courses get enrolled in this camp, they said.

JeM hub

The other leading target was Bahawalpur, which became the hub of the JeM after the release of Masood Azhar in exchange for the hijacked passengers of Indian Airlines-814 to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999.

The group has since been involved in a series of terror attacks in India, including the Parliament attack in 2001, the strike on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in 2000, the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in 2016 and the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019.

The elusive Azhar, a designated global terrorist, has not been seen in public since April 2019. He started the terror outfit in January 2000 and got assistance from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, Bin Laden and Sunni sectarian outfits in Pakistan, officials said.

Also Read: JeM chief Azhar loses 10 family members, 4 associates in Operation Sindoor

JeM camps hit

The Markaz Subhanallah at Bahawalpur is where the JeM trains and indoctrinates its recruits. The Pulwama terror strike of February 2019 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed was planned at this camp.

Giving details of the targets chosen, officials said the JeM camp at Sarjal Tehra Kalan in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab was the central launching pad for the terrorist group and was operated from a primary health centre looked after by its de facto chief, Abdul Rauf Asghar.

The facility, just six kilometres from Jammu’s Samba sector, was used for identifying places and digging cross-border tunnels to enable infiltration and the operation of drones for dropping arms and narcotics across the border.

Hizb too attacked

Among the other targets hit on Wednesday were Markaz Abbas in Kotli and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad in PoK — belonging to the JeM.

Besides, the Markaz Ahle Hadith at Barnala and the Shwawai Nalla camp at Muzaffarabad (LeT) and the Markaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot (Hizbul Mujahideen) were also hit.

The officials said the Shawai Nallah camp at Muzaffarabad is where the 26/11 attackers were trained.

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Infiltrating Kashmir

Started in 2000, Pakistan Army and ISI officers have frequently visited the camp, which can accommodate up to 200-250 terrorists at a time, the officials said.

The terrorists from these camps infiltrate mainly into north Kashmir, they said, adding the facility was also used for radicalisation and map reading to fresh recruits.

Wanted by NIA

The Markaz Abbas camp in Kotli in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was selected because it was headed by Qari Zarar, a close aide of Asghar, and has a presence of 100-125 JeM terrorists. Zarar is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

This facility is used for the infiltration of terrorists from Poonch and Rajouri sectors. All terror strikes are planned in this camp, the officials said.

Another JeM camp, Markaz Syedna Bilal at Muzaffarabad, has a presence of 50-100 terrorists. The Special Services Group of the Pakistan Army provides training to the JeM cadres at this facility.

Health unit?

The Mehmoona Joya terror facility at Sialkot is concealed in a health unit, and is used for the infiltration of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists into Jammu region.

It is also used for training, including weapons handling.

The camp, housing about 30 terrorists, is headed by Irfan Tanda, who has been responsible for carrying out attacks in Jammu city, the officials said.

Training in sniper attacks

The Markaz Raheel Shahid camp at Kotli in PoK was also for the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, especially to train them in sniper attacks.

India has categorically stated that its actions have been "focused, measured and non-escalatory" in nature and that no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted.