Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar has said that 10 of his family members and 4 close aides were killed in the Indian missile strikes in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, according to BBC Urdu. These strikes were part of Operation Sindoor, launched by India in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people were killed, mostly tourists.
India carried out the strikes at 1:05 am on Tuesday, targeting nine terrorist camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). One of the most important targets was the Subhan Allah complex in Bahawalpur, where Masood Azhar’s family members died. Those killed include his elder sister, her husband, his nephew and his wife, a niece, and five children from his family.
A statement said that Masood Azhar’s close aide, his mother, and two other associates were also killed in the Indian missile strikes. Bahawalpur, the 12th largest city in Pakistan, is about 400 km from Lahore. One of the main targets was the Subhan Allah camp, which has now been completely destroyed. Videos accessed by India Today show the camp in ruins, with huge holes and debris everywhere. The mosque inside the camp was also destroyed.
This camp, also called the Usman-o-Ali campus, is spread over 18 acres and was used by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for recruiting, fundraising, and spreading extremist ideas. Jaish-e-Mohammad was started by Masood Azhar in 2000, and is behind several major terror attacks in India — like the 2001 Parliament attack, 2016 Pathankot attack, and 2019 Pulwama attack. Masood Azhar, who was born in Bahawalpur, lives there in a high-security compound. He was one of the three terrorists released by India in 1999 after the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. The hijackers had taken the plane to Afghanistan, and killed a man who was on his honeymoon.
2001 Parliament attack
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was one of the most serious terror strikes in India’s history, targeting the seat of Indian democracy. It shocked the nation and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
Five heavily armed terrorists infiltrated the Parliament complex using a white Ambassador car with fake government stickers. All were dressed like commandos. They entered just minutes after Parliament had adjourned for the day. Their goal was to kill top Indian leaders, including the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Leader of the Opposition, who were still in the complex. A fierce gunbattle broke out between the terrorists and security personnel. All five attackers were killed within 30 minutes.
9 Indian personnel were killed:
5 Delhi Police officials
1 CRPF constable
2 Parliament watch & ward staff
1 gardener
More than 15 others were injured.
The attackers were linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Pakistan-based terrorist organizations. These groups were reportedly supported by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri man, was arrested and later sentenced to death for his involvement. He was hanged in 2013.
2016 Pathankot Attack
The Pathankot attack was a terrorist attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab. It happened in January 2016 and involved heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan. Six terrorists from the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) entered India by crossing the border. They hijacked a car and killed a local police officer, then reached the airbase.
Dressed in army uniforms and carrying heavy weapons, they attacked the base, aiming to damage critical military assets like fighter jets and helicopters. Indian security forces fought back in a gunbattle that lasted for 3 days (until January 4). 7 Indian security personnel were killed, including soldiers from the Indian Air Force, NSG (National Security Guard), and DSC (Defence Security Corps).
All 6 terrorists were killed. The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist group based in Pakistan.
Indian intelligence had intercepted phone calls between the terrorists and handlers in Pakistan. India later shared evidence with Pakistan and blamed JeM’s leader Maulana Masood Azhar for planning the attack.
2019 Pulwama Attack
The Pulwama attack was one of the deadliest terror attacks on Indian security forces in recent history. It happened in Jammu & Kashmir and led to serious tension between India and Pakistan. A suicide bomber from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) drove a car filled with explosives into a convoy of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) buses.
The convoy was carrying over 2,500 jawans from Jammu to Srinagar. The car rammed into one of the buses, causing a massive explosion. Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist group based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility.
The bomber was a local youth from Kashmir named Adil Ahmad Dar. Intelligence reports and phone records linked the attack to JeM leadership in Pakistan, including Masood Azhar.
About Operation Sindoor
In the early hours of Wednesday, India carried out a powerful and emotionally driven military strike named “Operation Sindoor”. This was not just any operation, it was India’s answer to the Pahalgam terror attack that brutally killed 26 innocent civilians on April 22. Among the victims was a newly-married Indian soldier. His widow had applied sindoor (vermilion) just days earlier — a sacred mark of commitment that turned into a symbol of sacrifice. That red mark became the inspiration behind India’s powerful response – Operation Sindoor.
Operation Sindoor is a tri-services precision strike conducted by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, targeting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was launched from Indian soil and was designed to be “focused, measured, and non-escalatory”, avoiding Pakistani military facilities to send a clear message: India is hitting terror, not the state, unless provoked further.
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