Pakistan’s Prime Minister said that retaliatory strikes against India on Saturday had specifically targeted military infrastructure New Delhi had used to launch its earlier attacks in “a powerful and well-coordinated response.”
Earlier Saturday, Pakistan’s military said it launched an operation against India, in retaliation to India launching missiles at key military bases, including one close to the capital Islamabad.
Hours later, explosions were reported in India-administered Kashmir, including Srinagar, the region’s largest city, and the city of Jammu.
The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear.
Pakistan launched the strikes on Saturday as part of ‘Operation Banyan al-Marsous,’ Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement issued by his office.
Sharif said Pakistan had on Saturday given “a powerful and well-coordinated response to India’s unprovoked aggression,” and accused India of launching “missile and drone attacks on Pakistan, targeting Noor Khan Airbase and other locations early this morning, killing innocent civilians.”
“Today, we have delivered a resounding reply and avenged the blood of the innocent,” Sharif said. “We are proud of our armed forces.”
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Pakistan says 11 killed, including a child, in overnight Indian strikes
From Immad Ud Din in Muzafarabbad and CNN’s Sophie Tanno
The information minister for kra cc Pakistan-administered Kashmir said that 11 people were killed, including a child, and 56 others were injured in “intense” overnight Indian shelling along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Last night, intense shelling from the Indian side took place at more than five different locations along the Line of Control,” Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah said Saturday.
“As a result, 11 people, including a child and four women, lost their lives, and 56 others were injured.”
He continued that, so far, 1,014 people have been relocated from the LoC – the de-facto border separating the India- and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed territory that has been a flashpoint in the recent hostilities – to safer areas.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Indian shelling has damaged 235 homes, 29 of which have been completely destroyed, Shah said. He added that two small hospitals along the LoC were also targeted by Indian shelling, causing partial structural damage to the buildings.
The latest confrontation between India and Pakistan continued Saturday, with Islamabad launching a military operation in retaliation to what it said were Indian strikes on its military bases overnight. India’s military said it “effectively countered and responded” to Pakistan’s operation.