IAF Air Strike In Balakot: 12 Mirage-2000 jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) had crossed the LoC on February 26 and had destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp, in retaliation to the Pulwama strike

New Delhi: Days after the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Pakistan’s Balakot, sources revealed on Monday that technical surveillance conducted by the Indian intelligence services in the days leading up to the air strike had confirmed around 300 active mobile connections in the facility. The information, revealed through the surveillance conducted by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), gives a fair indication of the number of terrorists killed in the February 26 airstrike, sources told news agency ANI. 

As per the report, the NTRO had commenced surveillance of the Jaish-e-Mohammad facility after the IAF was given permission to target the camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. On February 26, 12 Mirage 2000 jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and had bombed Jaish-e-Mohammad's camp in Pakistan's Balakot, where several terrorists were expected to be present. 

"During technical surveillance, it emerged that there was a presence of around 300 mobile phones with active signal strength inside the facility in the days leading up to the strike. The facility was destroyed by the IAF fighters," the news agency quoted sources, who had first-hand involvement in operational matters but wished to stay anonymous, as saying.

The government has not announced the official number of terrorists killed in the air strike at Balakot camp. However, a political fight has erupted over the issue of the number of terrorists killed in the air strike, after the initial number of 300 terrorists was reported. Opposition leaders such as Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Congress leader Kapil Sibal have questioned the Narendra Modi government over the actual number of terrorists killed in the strike, while BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday claimed that at least 250 terrorists had been eliminated in the strike. 

Meanwhile, on Monday, IAS chief BS Dhanoa confirmed that the Indian fighter jets had destroyed the target in Pakistan. Speaking at a press conference in Coimbatore, Dhanoa said that the exact casualty numbers would be released by the government. 

The Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) was conducted in retaliation to the Pulwama attack on February 14 when a JeM operative rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus plying CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 40 CRPF Jawans.