Francesca Marino, an Italian journalist, has reported that up to 170 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were killed in the airstrike conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan's Balakot.
A satellite image shows a close-up of the Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. (Photo: Planet Labs Inc via Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Francesca Marino, an Italian journalist, reported 170 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were killed in the airstrike
- The pre-dawn airstrikes were carried out by the Indian Air Force on February 26
- She said the inputs are based on information gathered through reliable sources in the region
Up to 170 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were killed in the airstrike conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan's Balakot, a foreign journalist has reported.
The pre-dawn airstrike was carried out by the Indian Air Force on February 26, days after the Pulwama terror attack. According to a report by Italian journalist Francesca Marino, the airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot led to the death of 130-170 JeM recruits.
Speaking to India Today TV, the journalist accused Pakistan of lying as the country has maintained that the Indian Air Force airstrike did not lead to any damage or casualties.
"Despite Pakistan's efforts to deceive the world on the Indian airstrikes on the Jaish-e-Muhammad camp, small details of what happened in Balakot in the wee hours of February 26 and thereafter have kept trickling in from my source," Italian journalist Francesca Marino wrote in her report.
Marino further wrote that a Pakistani army unit from Shinkiari base camp arrived at the location of the strike on February 26 around 6 am, just two-and-a-half hours after IAF successfully bombed the terror camp.
Quoting sources, Marino wrote that a unit of the Pakistani Army arrived at the spot and transported the injured to the Harkar-ul-Mujahideen camp, located in Shinkiari, where Pakistan Army doctors treated them.
Marino wrote that her sources indicated that around 45 individuals injured in the strike are still undergoing treatment at the military camp while 20 have succumbed during treatment.
And, the terrorists who have recovered are in custody of the Pakistan Army, according to her report.
Marino said that the inputs are based on information gathered over the last few weeks through reliable sources in the region.
"The numbers estimated have ranged from 130-170, including those who have died during treatment. Those killed included 11 trainers, ranging from bomb makers to those imparting weapons training," she wrote.
The journalist also suggested that a group of JeM members even visited the families of those killed in the attack and offered cash compensation to them to prevent leakage of information. She also highlights that the hilltop training camp is still under the control of the Pakistan army, with a captain rank officer of the Mujahid battalion in command.
Even local police is not allowed to access the road leading to the training camp, she said in her report.
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