ISLAMABAD (AP) 鈥� India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory in several locations early Wednesday, killing at least 19 people including a child, in what Pakistan's leader called an act of war.
India said it struck infrastructure used by militants linked to of tourists in the .
At least three civilians were also killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir by Pakistani shelling, the Indian army said in a statement.
Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors since the attack, which India has blamed Pakistan for backing. Islamabad has denied the accusation.
笔补办颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 condemned Wednesday鈥檚 airstrikes and said the 鈥渄eceitful enemy has carried out cowardly attacks鈥� and that his country would retaliate.
鈥淧akistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,鈥� Sharif said.
Sharif has convened a meeting of the National Security Committee for Wednesday morning.
Exchanges raise threat of war
South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said it was one the highest-intensity strikes from India on its rival in years and that 笔补办颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 response would 鈥渟urely pack a punch as well.鈥�
鈥淭hese are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other,鈥� Kugelman said. 鈥淭he escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly.鈥�
Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesperson, said in a statement late Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum military restraint from both countries.
鈥淭he world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,鈥� the statement read.
Indian politicians from different political parties lauded the strikes. 鈥淰ictory to Mother India,鈥� India鈥檚 defense minister, Rajnath Singh, wrote on X.
India鈥檚 main opposition Congress party called for national unity and said it was 鈥渆xtremely proud鈥� of the country鈥檚 army. 鈥淲e applaud their resolute resolve and courage,鈥� Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
India's army said the operation was named 鈥淪indoor,鈥� a Hindi word for the bright red vermillion powder worn by married Hindu women on their forehead and hair, in a reference to the women who saw their husbands killed in front of them.
Scenes of panic and destruction
The missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country鈥檚 eastern Punjab province, said 笔补办颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif.
At least 19 people were killed and 38 injured, according to officials.
India鈥檚 Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted at least nine sites 鈥渨here terrorist attacks against India have been planned.鈥�
鈥淥ur actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted,鈥� the statement said, adding that 鈥淚ndia has demonstrated considerable restraint."
Pakistani officials said the strikes hit at least two sites previously tied to banned militant groups.
One hit the Subhan Mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, killing 13 people including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital.
The mosque is adjacent to a seminary that once served as the central office of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group outlawed in 2002. Officials say the group has had no operational presence at the site since the ban.
Muhammad Sabir, who lives nearby, said he heard three or four explosions and then ran to a nearby field with his family and laid down.
Another missile hit a mosque in Muridke, damaging its structure. A sprawling building located nearby served as the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba until 2013, when Pakistan banned the group and arrested its founder.
The attack in Kashmir was claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself Kashmir Resistance.
In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as the blast ripped through houses and saw people running in panic. Authorities immediately cut power to the area.
Later, locals inspected the damage to their homes in the aftermath of the missile attacks, rubble and other debris crunching underfoot.
People took refuge on the streets and in open areas, fearful of what might happen. 鈥淲e were afraid the next missile might hit our house,鈥� said Mohammad Ashraf.
Authorities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have declared an emergency in the region鈥檚 hospitals.
Pakistan shut schools in Kashmir and Punjab province after the missile strikes. It had earlier closed seminaries in Kashmir in anticipation of an attack by India.
India hit by shelling as planes fall on villages
Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, there were heavy exchanges of fire.
The Indian army said three civilians were killed when Pakistani troops 鈥渞esorted to arbitrary firing,鈥� including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two countries, and their international border. It said it was 鈥渞esponding in a proportionate manner.鈥�
Shortly after India鈥檚 strikes, aircraft fell in two villages in India-controlled Kashmir.
State-run Pakistan Television, quoting security officials, said the country鈥檚 air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation but provided no additional detail. There was no immediate comment from India about 笔补办颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 claim. 笔补办颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 Foreign Affairs Ministry has said Indian forces had launched the strikes from inside Indian airspace.
The debris of plane parts were scattered across a village in the outskirts of the region's main city , including in a school and a mosque compound, according to Srinagar police and residents.
鈥淭here was a huge fire in the sky. Then we heard several blasts also,鈥� said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a resident of southern Wuyan village in the Pampore area, where the incident occurred.
Firefighters struggled for hours to douse the fires.
Another aircraft fell in an open field in the village of Bhardha Kalan near southern Akhnoor town, close to the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir shortly after the strikes.
Village resident Sachin Kumar told The Associated Press that he heard massive blasts followed by a huge ball of fire.
Kumar said he and and several other villagers rushed to the scene and found two pilots with injuries. Both were later taken away by the Indian army.
Pakistan said India's strikes posed a significant threat to commercial air traffic. 鈥淭his reckless escalation has brought the ,鈥� the statement said.
Meanwhile, authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir shut Srinagar city鈥檚 airport for civilian flights following directions from the Indian air force, senior airport official said Javed Anjum said.
Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir also closed all schools and other educational institutions in at least seven border areas and the area around Srinagar airport, officials said.
India speaks to US
The Indian Embassy in Washington said in a statement that national security advisor Ajit Doval spoke with U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the strikes. The embassy said 鈥淚ndia has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of survivors鈥� that point towards 鈥渢he clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the attack.鈥�
Indian officials said the armed forces had used precision strike weapon systems to carry out the strikes, targeting the headquarters of militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.
___
Saaliq and Roy reported from New Delhi, and Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Associated Press writers Ishfaq Hussian in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan; Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan; and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan contributed to this story.
Munir Ahmed, Sheikh Saaliq, Riazat Butt, Rajesh Roy And Aijaz Hussain, The Associated Press
