Top defence sources said more than 170 terrorists were killed in the May 7 strike on the nine terrorist headquarters in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK)
Operation Sindoor led to over 200 casualties on the Pakistani side, including nearly 42 of their military personnel, top defence sources have told CNN-News18. Several Indian women pilots were part of Operation Sindoor that inflicted serious damage on Pakistan, defence sources added.
Sources said more than 170 terrorists were killed in the May 7 strike on the nine terrorist headquarters in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), with the maximum damage being inflicted on the Bahawalpur headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. This is where India’s most wanted terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar’s family suffered heavy casualties.
On May 9-10, India used the Brahmos missile to inflict serious damage to multiple Pakistan air bases, including Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan and the Nur Khan airbase, sources told CNN-News18. At least 42 Pakistani Military personnel were killed in Indian strikes. Sources added that India had hit all the targets it had planned with spectacular precision. India’s women pilots were also a part of Operation Sindoor, defence sources revealed to CNN-News18.
India remains on alert with Operation Sindoor not over, but only paused. Sources said Pakistan was “badly humiliated” and so it will try to do something. “We are on alert for any action by them. Forces have been told to be prepared. Operation Sindoor has not ended, it is only paused,” defence sources added.
“Making Army Chief Asim Munir as the Field Marshall is a face-saving gesture by Pakistan,” top defence sources told CNN-News18.
Defence sources also said that India’s military success was a consequence of several decisions taken after the Doklam stand-off in 2017.
In a powerful and emotionally charged address in Bikaner on May 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on India’s decisive counterterror operations in response to the April 22 attack in Jammu & Kashmir, asserting that “every drop of Indian blood will be avenged”.
“The bullets flew in Pahalgam, but all 140 crore Indians were hurt,” Modi declared, describing the nation’s collective pain and unity after the deadly terrorist strike.
Modi confirmed that in just 22 minutes, India launched a precise retaliation, destroying nine top terrorist headquarters inside Pakistan in Operation Sindoor. “Jab sindoor barood ban jata hai, then what is the result – the world saw it.”
Framing the strike as a fulfilment of the nation’s vow post-Pahalgam, Modi said: “Those who tried to erase our sindoor, we have turned them to dust. Those who spilled Indian blood—today, we’ve settled every drop.”
‘PAKISTAN BROUGHT TO ITS KNEES’
Crediting India’s armed forces, Modi said: “Our government gave full freedom to all three armed forces. They created a chakravyuh that brought Pakistan to its knees.”
Referring to Pakistan’s attempted strike on the Nal Air Base, he said the base stood untouched—while India’s response targeted Pakistan’s Rahim Khar air base, rendering it inoperable:
“Rahim Khar air base is now in the ICU. No one knows when it will reopen.”
