Casualties as India attacks Pakistan and Islamabad 'downs five jets' in retaliation

India has attacked Pakistan at six different locations, killing eight people and wounding another 35, Pakistani officials reported, adding the Pakistani Air Force shot down five Indian warplanes and some drones in their ongoing response to the "cowardly and shameful" attack.

The Indian army, "using different weapons, targeted six places, which left 24 impacts," Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a pre-dawn news conference on Wednesday in Rawalpindi.

The targeted places, including a mosque, were inside Pakistan as well as in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, he said.

Pakistan's Punjab province declared a state of emergency after Indian missile attacks. One of the Indian missiles struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed and a woman and a man were wounded, one Pakistani official said.

Pakistani military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad's retaliation to Indian missile attacks was under way, adding Islamabad has "every right" to respond to "this act of war imposed" by New Delhi.

Minutes after reports of missile strikes, Pakistan's Air Force shot down five Indian warplanes and a drone, Islamabad's Defence Minister said.

India said it launched "Operation Sindoor", hitting nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

No Pakistani military facilities were targeted, the statement added.

"Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and methods of execution," New Delhi said.

The Indian Army said that three civilians were killed in "cross-border firing" by Pakistan in India-administered Kashmir. Islamabad did not respond to the Indian claims.

Meanwhile, in Muzaffarabad, the main city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions and some people were wounded in the attack.

Residents in Muzaffarabad were seen running in panic,, and power was immediately cut by the authorities.

Waqar Noor, the interior minister in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said at least one child was killed in the Indian attack. He said several missiles landed at two locations, and the civilian population was targeted.

Noor said authorities declared an emergency in the region's hospitals.

Trump and UN react

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the Indian attacks were "an unprovoked, blatant act of war", adding that India violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that India fired missiles from its own airspace, and New Delhi's claim of "targeting terrorist camps is false.

Reacting to Indian aggression against Pakistan, US President Donald Trump said, "It's a shame. We just heard about it as we were walking in the doors of the oval. Just heard about it."

"I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They've been fighting for a long time. They've been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "very concerned" about the situation.

"The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and the international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesperson.

Ahead of the Indian attacks, the United States called for calm between India and Pakistan after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of stopping water from flowing across borders.

"We continue to urge Pakistan and India to work towards a responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.

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Source: TRT