India carried out Operation Sindoor, a military operation involving strategic targeting of nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK on May 7. The joint operation by the Indian Army and Air Force was in direct reaction to the latest Pahalgam terror strike that led to the unfortunate demise of 26 civilians.
Using loitering munitions, Kamikaze drones, and long-range artillery, Indian troops conducted highly targeted attacks based on precise intelligence. These air strikes were meant to take out primary threats without inducing large-scale collateral damage.
The operation resulted in the killing of more than 100 terrorists, according to the Indian government. Of note are some of the high-profile individuals from terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed who were neutralised. Some of the key individuals killed include:
Mudassar Khadian Khas (Abu Jundal)
He was a Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliate who was in charge of operations at Markaz Taiba in Muridke. Reports indicated that he was given military honours during his funeral, which was attended by Pakistan Army personnel and held at a government school by JuD leader Hafiz Abdul Rauf.
Hafiz Muhammed Jameel
A central Jaish-e-Mohammed functionary and Maulana Masood Azhar’s brother-in-law, he was in charge of operations at Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur and was noted for his activities in youth radicalisation and JeM’s financial infrastructure.
Mohammad Yusuf Azhar (alises: Ustad Ji, Mohd Salim, Ghosi Sahab)
A JeM and IC-814 hijacking case suspect too, he was instrumental in training recruits and was known to plan attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Khalid (alias Abu Akasha)
A senior Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who planned a number of attacks in J&K and was also engaged in arms running from Afghanistan. His funeral procession in Faisalabad was attended by top Pakistani military and civilian leaders.
Mohammad Hassan Khan
Son of JeM’s PoK commander Mufti Asghar Khan Kashmiri, he played an active role in planning terror activities throughout Jammu and Kashmir.
With the success of phase one, India has confirmed that a second phase of Operation Sindoor is also on its way in order to keep terrorist networks active within the region under pressure. The operation is still operational, with intelligence-based targeting ongoing.
