India strikes targets in Pakistan 2 weeks after terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir

On May 6, India conducted airstrikes against nine targets in Punjab and Pakistani Kashmir, with Pakistan claiming to have shot down five Indian aircraft.

The airstrikes, called “Operation Sindoor” by India, come nearly two weeks after 26 civilians were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22.

"Terrorist infrastructure sites"

Reuters reports that India claimed to have struck nine “terrorist infrastructure sites” and that the sites were connected to terrorist groups that had conducted the Pahalgam Attacks on Apr. 22 that saw militants attack a tourist area, killing 26.

Pakistani officials said six locations, including dams and other hydropower projects, had been targeted.

The two countries also shelled each other with artillery at several points along their shared border.

Al Jazeera reports that India had fired missiles at six Pakistani cities, but that the Pakistani air force claimed that it had shot down five indian fighter jets, and that Indian authorities had not verified the claim.

However, Reuters reports that local government sources had said three jets had crashed in Indian Kashmir overnight, and that their pilots had been sent to hospital.

This is the worst outbreak of fighting between the two nuclear-armed nations in decades.

Pakistan has called the attacks an “act of war”, reporting 26 civilians killed by the strikes.

Pahalgam

The region has been the location of constant low-level violence in recent years, and has been the cause of at least two wars between the two countries.

The latest round of violence started after terrorists attacked a tourist site in Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir, killing 26.

The BBC reported that a group called the Resistance Front had claimed responsibility for the attack, but retracted the claim a few days later.

The group is linked with a Pakistan-based militant group and has previously attacked targets in India.

At the time, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, vowed to “identify, track and punish” those responsible.

Reaction and rerouting

After the May 6 airstrikes by India, countries such as China and the United Kingdom called for dialogue and restraint, as reported by Al Jazeera.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he would “continue to engage both India and Pakistan leadership towards a peaceful resolution”.

Airlines such as SIA have said that they intend to avoid Pakistani airspace and take alternative routes, as reported by CNA.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised travellers to defer non-essential travel to the affected regions.

Top image via AFP