Pakistan's leader vows to avenge India "act of war"

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Islamabad — India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory successful respective locations aboriginal Wednesday, sidesplitting astatine slightest 26 radical including a child, successful what Pakistan's person called an enactment of war.

India said it struck infrastructure utilized by militants linked to last month's massacre of tourists successful the Indian-controlled information of Kashmir.

Pakistan said it had changeable down respective Indian combatant jets successful retaliation arsenic 3 planes fell onto villages successful India-controlled Kashmir. At slightest 7 civilians were besides killed successful the portion by Pakistani shelling, Indian constabulary and medics said.

Tensions person soared betwixt the nuclear-armed neighbors since an onslaught successful which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, astatine a fashionable meadow successful the disputed territory of Kashmir, successful immoderate cases sidesplitting men earlier their wives' eyes.

India has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, thing Islamabad has denied.

Kashmir, which is divided betwixt the 2 countries but claimed successful its entirety by each, has been astatine the halfway of tensions for decades and they person fought 2 wars implicit it.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Wednesday's airstrikes and said his state would retaliate.

"Pakistan has each close to springiness a robust effect to this enactment of warfare imposed by India, and a beardown effect is so being given," Sharif said.

The country's National Security Committee met Wednesday morning, and Pakistan summoned India's complaint d'affaires to lodge a protest.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a peculiar gathering of the Cabinet Committee connected Security.

A root told the Reuters quality bureau Modi postponed a travel to Croatia, the Netherlands and Norway.

Girls who, according to their relatives, were injured successful a transverse borderline shelling successful Uri assemblage person attraction successful a infirmary

Concern mounts

South Asia expert Michael Kugelman said it was 1 the highest-intensity strikes from India connected its rival successful years and that Pakistan's effect would "surely battalion a punch arsenic well."

"These are 2 beardown militaries that, adjacent with atomic weapons arsenic a deterrent, are not acrophobic to deploy sizeable levels of accepted subject unit against each other," Kugelman said. "The escalation risks are real. And they could good increase, and quickly."

Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesperson, said successful a connection precocious Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint due to the fact that the satellite could not "afford a subject confrontation" betwixt India and Pakistan.

Several Indian states planned civilian defence drills aboriginal Wednesday, according to India's location ministry, to bid civilians and information unit to respond successful lawsuit of immoderate "hostile attacks," the ministry said successful a statement. Such drills successful India are uncommon successful non-crisis times.

Indian politicians from antithetic governmental parties lauded the strikes. "Victory to Mother India," India's defence minister, Rajnath Singh, wrote connected X.

India's main absorption Congress enactment called for nationalist unity and said it was "extremely proud" of the country's army. "We applaud their resolute resoluteness and courage," Congress enactment president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Details connected the subject enactment

India's service said the cognition was named "Sindoor," a Hindi connection for the agleam reddish vermillion pulverization worn by joined Hindu women connected their forehead and hair, referring to the women whose husbands were killed successful beforehand of them.

India's missiles deed six locations successful Pakistan-administered Kashmir and successful the country's eastbound Punjab province, sidesplitting astatine slightest 26 radical including women and children, said Pakistan's subject spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif.

Officials said different 38 radical were injured by the strikes, and different 5 radical were killed successful Pakistan during exchanges of occurrence crossed the borderline aboriginal successful the day.

Sharif said the Indian jets besides damaged infrastructure astatine a dam successful Pakistan-administered Kashmir, calling it a usurpation of planetary norms.

India's Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted astatine slightest 9 sites "where violent attacks against India person been planned."

"Our actions person been focused, measured and non-escalatory successful nature. No Pakistan subject facilities person been targeted," the connection said, adding that "India has demonstrated sizeable restraint."

Pakistan said the strikes deed astatine slightest 2 sites antecedently tied to banned militant groups.

One deed the Subhan Mosque successful Punjab's Bahawalpur city, sidesplitting 13 radical including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doc astatine a adjacent hospital.

The mosque is adjacent a seminary that was erstwhile the cardinal bureau of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant radical outlawed successful 2002. Officials accidental the radical has had nary operational beingness astatine the tract since the ban.

In a connection obtained by CBS News, Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, claimed India's onslaught killed 10 of his household members and 4 adjacent associates. He criticized Modi, saying, "This cruelty has breached each limits—do not expect mercy anymore."

Another rocket deed a mosque successful Muridke, damaging its structure. A sprawling gathering located adjacent served arsenic the office of Lashkar-e-Taiba until 2013, erstwhile Pakistan banned the radical and arrested its founder.

Last month's onslaught connected tourists was claimed by a radical calling itself the Kashmir Resistance, which India says is besides known arsenic The Resistance Front and is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In Muzaffarabad, the main metropolis of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, nonmigratory Abdul Sammad said helium heard respective explosions arsenic the blast ripped done houses. He saw radical moving successful panic and authorities instantly chopped powerfulness to the area.

People took refuge connected the streets and successful unfastened areas, fearful of what mightiness happen. "We were acrophobic the adjacent rocket mightiness deed our house," said Mohammad Ashraf.

Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool, who lives adjacent the mosque, told CBS News, "We were conscionable astir to spell to furniture erstwhile a immense blast happened. It was precise large and terrifying explosions."

Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed portion of Kashmir betwixt India and Pakistan, determination were dense exchanges of fire.

The Indian constabulary and medics said 7 civilians were killed and 30 wounded by Pakistani shelling successful Poonch territory adjacent the highly militarized Line of Control, the de facto borderline that divides disputed Kashmir betwixt the 2 countries. Officials said respective homes besides were damaged successful the shelling.

The Indian service said Pakistani troops "resorted to arbitrary firing," including gunfire and artillery shelling, crossed the frontier.

Shortly aft India's strikes, craft fell onto 3 villages successful India-controlled Kashmir.

Sharif, the Pakistani subject spokesperson, said the country's aerial unit changeable down 5 Indian jets successful retaliation for the strikes. There was nary contiguous remark from India astir Pakistan's claim.

Debris from a level was scattered crossed Wuyan colony successful the outskirts of the region's main city, including successful a schoolhouse and a mosque compound, according to Srinagar constabulary and residents. Firefighters struggled for hours to douse the resulting fires.

"There was a immense occurrence successful the sky. Then we heard respective blasts also," said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a Wuyan resident.

Another craft fell successful an unfastened tract successful Bhardha Kalan village, adjacent the Line of Control successful Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Village nonmigratory Sachin Kumar told The Associated Press helium heard monolithic blasts followed by a immense shot of fire.

Kumar said helium and and respective different villagers rushed to the country and recovered 2 pilots with injuries. Both were aboriginal taken distant by the Indian army.

A 3rd craft crashed successful a workplace tract successful India's bluish Punjab state, a constabulary bureau told the AP, speaking connected the information of anonymity arsenic they were not authorized to talk to the media. The serviceman did not supply further details.

Other nations reacting

Speaking to reporters successful the Oval Office connected Tuesday, President Trump called the strikes "a shame."

"We conscionable heard astir it conscionable arsenic we were walking successful the doors of the Oval," Mr. Trump said. "I conjecture radical knew thing was going to hap based connected a small spot of the past. They've been warring for a agelong time. You know, they've been warring for galore many decades, and centuries actually, if you truly deliberation astir it. No, I conscionable anticipation it ends precise quickly."

China called for restraint from some sides pursuing India's strikes.

"China expresses regret implicit India's subject actions this greeting and is acrophobic astir the existent developments. China opposes each forms of terrorism," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said successful a statement. "We telephone connected some India and Pakistan to prioritize bid and stability, stay calm and restrained, and debar taking actions that further complicate the situation."

Beijing is the largest capitalist successful Pakistan by far, with a $65 cardinal China-Pakistan Economic Corridor task that spans crossed the country. China meantime besides has aggregate borderline claims disputed with India, with 1 of those claims successful the northeastern portion of the Kashmir region.

French quality bureau AFP reports that British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio Wednesday the UK is "a friend, a spouse to some countries. We basal acceptable to enactment some countries. Both person a immense involvement successful determination stability, successful dialogue, successful de-escalation and thing we tin bash to enactment that, we are present and consenting to do."

Moscow connected Wednesday called for some India and Pakistan to amusement "restraint," AFP says.

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