India carried out three counter strikes in 5 years, not two, says Rajnath Singh at Mangaluru rally

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, March 9, 2019: Uion Home Minister Rajnath Singh has made a startling claim that in the past five years, Indian forces have thrice crossed the borders, entered foreign territory and successfully conducted air strikes. However, he added that he will talk about two of the instances, not the third.

Speaking at a rally in Karnataka, Rajnath Singh said on Saturday, "In the past five years, we have crossed the border thrice and our men have successfully conducted air strikes. I will give you information about two of those incidents, but not the third."

Rajnath Singh then went on to cite the 2016 surgical strikes and the latest Balakot airstrike in Pakistan.

In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted pre-emptive non-military airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot to destroy one of the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps.

Before that, in 2016, the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) months after the Uri terror attack and destroyed terror launchpads along the border.

As Rajnath Singh said he won’t mention the third incident of "air strike", the crowd broke into a round of applause, lauding the minister’s claims.

Twelve days after the Pulwama terror attack, IAF fighter jets entered the Pakistani territory to avenge the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel who were killed in the attack.

While IAF officials have refrained from quantifying the number of terrorists who were killed in the airstrike in Balakot, several BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, have declared that at least 250 terrorists were killed.