100 terrorists killed; govt says ops ongoing

All political parties backed the government on military action and hailed the armed forces

- Saubhadra Chatterji, Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI: The government is still assessing the damages inflicted on Pakistan by Operation Sindoor but at least 100 terrorists were killed in the ongoing operation, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meeting on Thursday, according to people aware of details.

Singh's comments mark the first estimation of the casualties from the precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir carried out by India on Wednesday, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack two weeks ago.

The meeting saw opposition parties backing the government in the military action and hailing the armed forces, as leaders across the political spectrum projected a united front amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The 26-minute action codenamed Operation Sindoor was carried out between 1.04am and 1.30am on Wednesday. The strikes conducted with a mix of missiles and smart munitions fired by aircraft and ground forces targeted bases of UN-proscribed terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) located across the international border and the Line of Control (LoC).

Singh, who chaired the all-party meeting of parliamentary leaders at Parliament complex, added that Operation Sindoor was an "ongoing operation" and India didn't want to escalate matters. According to a person privy to the meeting, Singh told the leaders, "Our intended purpose has been met, we are not interested in escalating matters but if Pakistan does something, we will not back down but the armed forces will retaliate..."

Opposition parties unanimously reiterated their support for the government underlining national unity.