India fired missiles at Pakistan early Wednesday, in what it said was retaliation for last month’s massacre of Indian tourists. Pakistan called the strikes an act of war and claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets.
The strikes targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” India’s Defense Ministry said. Pakistan’s military said the missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country’s Punjab province and killed more than two dozen people, including children.
Pakistan said it reserved the right to respond, raising the specter that the back-and-forth could spiral into all-out conflict. Already, it’s the worst confrontation between the rivals since 2019, when they came close to war.
Following the strikes, there was a heavy exchange of fire that officials in each country said left more people dead. Three planes fell onto villages in India-controlled territory, according to Indian police and residents, though it was not immediately clear if they were downed by Pakistan.
Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors since an April attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir, in some cases killing men before their wives’ eyes.
Source: AP
