ARTICLE AD BOX
Pakistan claims it has killed “40-50 soldiers” by shelling Indian military installations along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, in retaliation for Wednesday’s pre-dawn airstrikes by India.
At least 12 civilians and an Indian soldier were killed in heavy shelling in India’s Poonch district, which forced locals to flee the border villages, the Indian police said. Pakistan and India also said they had both shot down projectiles fired at each other’s military installations on Thursday.
Pakistan said it downed 25 Indian kamikaze drones, while India said it shot down 15 missiles. It comes a day after Islamabad vowed to avenge the death of 31 civilians in Indian airstrikes.
India said the strikes killed 100 “terrorists” as a retaliation for a massacre of tourists in Kashmir last month. Also on Thursday, French officials said at least one Indian-owned Rafale fighter jet was shot down during Wednesday’s “Operation Sindoor”.
The Independent spoke to witnesses at the site of one crashed jet, who described a huge explosion lighting up the night sky, though Indian officials have refused to acknowledge that any planes were downed.
US directs consulate staff in Pakistan to shelter in place
The US Consulate General in Lahore, Pakistan, has just now directed its staff to shelter in place amid reports of drone explosions, downed drones and possible airspace incursions, the state department said.
The consulate has also received initial reports that authorities may be evacuating some areas adjacent to Lahore’s main airport, it added.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 11:14
India 'neutralised' Pakistan attempts to 'engage' military targets, defence ministry says
India has claimed it "neutralised" attempts by Pakistan to "engage" several military targets in its northern and western regions on Wednesday, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement.
It said Indian armed forces also targeted air defence radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan on Thursday.
Pakistan claims to have killed dozens of Indian soldiers
Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar has claimed that Pakistan has targeted and destroyed Indian military installations along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, and alleged that “40-50 Indian soldiers” were killed.
Tarar said in an earlier interview with Sky News that India was the “aggressor” and vowed retaliation.
India has not responded to Pakistan's claims of dozens of soldiers' deaths.
Earlier, Indian media reported that one soldier was killed in the cross-border shelling across the Line of Control, besides 12 civilians.
Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:41
India and Pakistan: A history scarred by bloody conflicts since 1947 partition
India said its Operation Sindoor struck nine Pakistani sites on Wednesday that provided “terrorist infrastructure” and from which attacks against it were orchestrated. Its military spokesperson said the sites were completely destroyed.
Sindoor, which refers to the red vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women, is an apparent reference to the widows left by the 22 April attack that killed 26 men, most of them Hindu.
Read more here:
- AP
Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:40
Indian defence minister says army will retaliate if provoked
During an all-party meeting, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that India does not want further escalation but reportedly said that the country will retaliate if provoked.
NDTV, citing sources, said that the defence minister also said that around 100 “terrorists” were killed in India’s 25-minute missile barrage early on Wednesday, across nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, told ANI that the government said “they cannot share a few things which are confidential in the interest of national security. We [all parties] said we stand with the government”.
Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:26
Pakistan says it has shot down 25 Indian drones
Pakistan's military has claimed that it shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones sent by India that violated its airspace.
Earlier, the Pakistan army had claimed it shot down 12 Indian drones.
Spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected.
“Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression,” he said.
India has not yet responded to Pakistan’s claim.
Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 09:56
In pics: Locals flee border villages after heavy shelling
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 09:24
China denies knowledge of jets being used by Pakistan
China's foreign ministry this morning said it was "not familiar with the matter" when asked whether Chinese jets were involved in the India-Pakistan conflict after India hit Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir with missiles yesterday.
Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, told parliament that Chinese J-10C jets were used to shoot down five Indian fighter jets along the border, which included French-made Rafale.
The Indian government has not verified the claims of its jets being shot down.
Mr Dar said the ministry kept Beijing informed about the military action soon after the Indian airstrikes began.
The minister also held a meeting with China’s ambassador Jiang Zaidong later in the day.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 09:15
Minister says 100 militants killed in airstrikes on Pakistan
India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh told a closed-door all-party meeting this morning that 100 militants were killed in Indian airstrikes on Pakistan, NDTV reported.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 09:00
India sent Israel-made Harop suicide drones over Pakistani cities, says Pakistan military
Pakistan shot down 12 drones from India that violated its airspace, the military said this morning, a day after Indian strikes on multiple targets in the country fanned fears of a larger military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected, Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.
"Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression," he said.
He added that one civilian was killed and at least four personnel of the Pakistan army sustained injuries when a 13th Indian drone “managed to engage in a military target near Lahore partially”.
“Four men of Pakistan army have been injured in this attack near Lahore with partial damage to an equipment has occurred."
Local police official Mohammad Rizwan said a drone was downed near Walton Airport, an airfield in a residential area of Lahore that also contains military installations.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 08:45
English (US) ·