NEW DELHI, MAY 7 : Several family members and close associates of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar were among those killed in airstrikes carried out by the Indian Armed Forces early Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strike which went under the name, Operation Sindoor, reportedly targeted terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top security and intelligence sources here said that over 80 terrorists were neutralised in the coordinated strikes, with the most intense operation being witnessed in JeM’s Bahawalpur headquarters and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s main centre at Muridke, with 25\u201330 terrorists being killed at each of the locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Pakistan media, Masood Azhar released a statement, admitting that 10 of his family members were killed in the Indian strikes, but unconfirmed sources claimed 14 people were killed in his house in Bahawalpur. Their funeral will take place at Bahawalpur, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Escalating Pakistan\u2019s cost: India\u2019s calculated strikes and the message behind Operation Sindoor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports suggest that those of the family members of Masood Azhar killed include his elder sister and her husband, his nephew and his wife, another niece and five children of his family. It is also reported that a close aide of Azhar and his mother, and two other close associates were also killed in the Indian strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Masood Azhar, mastermind behind the 2001 Parliament attack in New Delhi, had been missing from the public view for several months and had only resurfaced in Bahawalpur around the end of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian intelligence had a close eye on his movements. Latest satellite imagery and human intelligence revealed that he had resumed command over the terrorist activities from within the walled complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are verifying ground-level intelligence about the whereabouts of Masood Azhar. Signs point to the possibility that Azhar was present in the facility at the time of the attack,” a top intelligence source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Operation ‘Sindoor’: Why India chose these nine terror hubs in Pakistan, PoK<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, PTI reported that Masood Azhar has admitted that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in Indian strikes on the terror outfit\u2019s headquarters in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The admission came through a statement issued by Azhar and reported by BBC Urdu and PTI on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the statement, those killed in the strike on the Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah campus included Azhar’s elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family. Also among the dead were a trusted aide of Azhar and his mother, along with two other close companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Subhan Allah complex in Bahawalpur was one of the key targets in the coordinated Indian military operation that began at 1:05 am on Wednesday. It was one of two high-impact hits as part of India’s cross-border strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian forces targeted nine locations linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen in response to the April 27 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people \u2014 mostly tourists \u2014 were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists. Bahawalpur, the 12th largest city in Pakistan and located roughly 400 km from Lahore, has long served as the epicentre of JeM’s activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bahawalpur strike was particularly significant as the Subhan Allah campus, also referred to as the Usman-o-Ali campus, functioned as JeM\u2019s ideological and operational hub. Spread across 18 acres, the campus housed a mosque and facilities used for recruitment, indoctrination, and fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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