India Launches Targeted Strikes in Pakistan, Eight Killed

India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting precision air strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in response to a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. The Indian government emphasized that the operation targeted terrorist infrastructure specifically linked to attacks on Indian soil and was designed to be focused and non-escalatory, avoiding Pakistani military sites. However, Pakistan condemned the strikes as targeting civilian areas, reporting eight civilian deaths and dozens injured, and called the action an 'act of war.' The Pakistani government vowed a strong response, while its military claimed to have shot down two Indian aircraft, a claim not independently verified. International voices, including the United Nations, urged restraint and warned against a military solution as tensions flared with further exchanges of fire along the Line of Control. In the aftermath, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir closed schools and public institutions amid heightened security concerns.