'We are at war with terrorists': Indian envoy to US amid conflict with Pakistan

Speaking to CNN, Kwatra said, "... We are at war with the terrorists and we will bring justice to the victims and hold them accountable."

"We took out terror factories at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). We were cautious to target only those who were responsible for the killings. The original escalation was on April 22, when they killed 26 innocent civilians, including a Nepali national," he said.

The Indian Army on Thursday night activated a line of air defence systems, mainly the Russian-built S-400 air, to thwart Pakistan’s coordinated missile and drone strikes targeting multiple locations across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

According to media reports Thursday, the S-400 — referred to by the Indian military as Sudarshan Chakra — was first used late Wednesday night to intercept and destroy 15 missiles launched by Pakistan at Indian cities.

Following the interceptions, Israeli-made HARPY drones were deployed to disable Pakistani air defence radars, including one in Lahore.

Sources told ANI that the Air Force successfully fired the S-400 at “moving targets” headed towards Indian airspace and neutralised them. Subsequently, HARPY drones were launched to target and cripple Pakistani radar systems.

Operation Sindoor

Nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were targeted and destroyed in 25 minutes of Operation Sindoor, which was conducted from 1:05 am on Wednesday by all three wings of the Indian armed forces.

The terrorists camps were the major training hubs of Pak-based terror groups- Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen. 

According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was aimed at neutralizing terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India.

At a press briefing with the Army, India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri said, "The attack in Pahalgam was marked by extreme barbarity, with the victims mostly killed with head shots from close range and in front of their family...the family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message. The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining normalcy returning to Kashmir..."

"Our intelligence monitory of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India are impending. Thus, compulsion, both to deter and pre-empt. Earlier this morning, India exercised its right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks.... These actions were measured and non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible. They focused on dismantling terrorists' infrastructure."

He added, "It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22nd attack be brought to justice. Despite a fortnight having passed since the attack, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan against terrorists' infrastructure in its area."

The Army has clearly warned Pakistan of retaliation if Islamabad escalates the volatile situation after Operation Sindoor.