Headlines

Pakistan says retaliatory strikes under way after accusing India of targeting military bases

Pakistan officials confirm counterattack against India has begun under the name Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, meaning ‘wall of lead’ in Arabic

Pakistan said it had begun retaliation strikes after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said India had fired six surface-to-air missiles targeting Nur Khan, Murid and Shorkot, three of Pakistan’s most important military bases, early on Saturday morning. He said most were intercepted by Pakistani air defences.

Shortly afterwards, Pakistan officials confirmed they had begun their counter-attack against India, under the name Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, a phrase from the Qur’an roughly translating to “wall of lead”.

On Wednesday India’s missiles struck nine sites in Pakistan killing 31 people. Those strikes in turn were India’s response to an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir late last month, in which militants killed 25 Hindu tourists and a guide, which they blamed on Pakistani-backed extremists.

India’s targeting of Pakistani army bases came hours after Indian said Pakistan had launched yet another wave of drone attacks across 26 locations over the state of Punjab and Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday night. Explosions were heard near the airport in Srinagar, the main city in India-administered Kashmir.