Operation Sindoor fallout: 10 killed, over 30 injured as Pakistan shells border villages

According to the Indian Army, Pakistan's shelling began just hours after India carried out a coordinated and high-intensity military offensive under the codename Operation Sindoor.

Tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday (May 7) escalated sharply as the Pakistan Army launched intense artillery and mortar shelling targeting forward villages in Jammu and Kashmir. The unprovoked assault resulted in the deaths of ten civilians, including a woman and two children, and left 38 others injured, officials confirmed.

The worst-hit region was the Poonch district, where seven fatalities were reported and 25 people sustained injuries. Ten others were injured in the Uri sector of Baramulla district, while three people were wounded in the Rajouri district. According to defence officials, the Indian Army responded "in equal measure," retaliating firmly against the ceasefire violations.

The shelling came just hours after India carried out coordinated, high-intensity missile strikes under the codename Operation Sindoor, targeting nine major terror hubs operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes were carried out jointly by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force—marking the first such tri-services operation since the 1971 war.

"Pakistan initiated unprovoked shelling in civilian areas shortly after our successful counter-terror strikes. A proportionate response has been delivered," the Indian Army said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

India's military action was in direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were gunned down in a brutal mass shooting. The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack, prompting a strategic shift in India’s counter-terror operations.

In the wake of the Indian offensive, Pakistan shut down its airspace for 48 hours and suspended international flight operations, underlining the gravity of the situation. The Indian strikes reportedly avoided civilian and economic infrastructure and were based on credible intelligence linking the targeted camps to the Pahalgam massacre.

Meanwhile, the civilian toll in the Pakistani shelling has sparked condemnation across India. Officials emphasized that such actions would only strengthen India’s determination to uproot terrorism from the region.