"A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed" the  Ministry of Defence said in a media release.

According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was carried out a short while ago and aimed at neutralizing terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India. A total of nine sites have been hit during the strike.

Officials said the strikes were focused, measured, and non-escalatory, deliberately avoiding any Pakistani military installations. “India has shown significant restraint both in the selection of targets and the method of execution,” the statement added.

“India stands by its commitment that those responsible for this heinous act will be held accountable,” a government spokesperson said.

Pakistan's DG ISPR, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary said India targeted sites in Kotli, Muridke, Bahawalpur, and Muzaffarabad.

Muridke is the headquarters of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is run by Hafiz Saeed, and Bahalwapur in Pakistan's Punjab province is the base of Jaish-e-Mohammad, an outfit run by Masood Azhar, reported NDTV.

Pakistan claims it shot down Indian jets, vows to hit back

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN: “I can confirm that two aircraft of Indian Air force have been taken down. The locations I have so far are around Bhatinda in India [Punjab] and Akhnoor [in occupied Kashmir].”

DG ISPR said a child was killed in the Indian attack. He said mosque was targeted in Bahawalpur while two civilians were killed in Kotli, reported Dawn.Pakistan said it will respond to the strikes by India at a time and place of its own choosing, adding that the attack by India “will not go unanswered”.

In a statement, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that India's “temporary pleasure will be replaced by enduring grief”.