Balakot Airstrike Was Codenamed Operation Bandar

The Indian Air Force (IAF) mission to bomb a terrorist hideout in Pakistan's Balakot was codenamed 'Operation Bandar', India Today TV stated on Friday quoting defence sources.

It is worth mentioning here that the February 26, 2019, cross-border airstrike was a rare instance when the IAF crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and bombed targets in Pakistani territory.

"India had termed the airstrike an "intelligence-led, non-military, pre-emptive" operation that targetted a camp run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, a town located in the Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province," further informed the defence sources.

It may be mentioned here that the the Balakot airstrike was seen as a response to the February 14 Pulwama suicide attack even though did not officially say so.

In the Pulwama attack 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed and Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama suicide bombing.

Two weeks later, Indian Air Force's Mirage-2000 fighter jets took off from airbases in India before dawn on February 26.

The IAF jets crossed the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and targetted the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot with precision, guided missiles.