Operation Sindoor: IAF confirms downing Pakistani jets, Indian pilots back safe (WATCH)

Indian Air Force on Sunday confirms it downed multiple hi-tech Pakistani fighter jets attempting to intrude into Indian airspace during post-Operation Sindoor tensions.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday confirmed that it shot down multiple high-technology fighter jets belonging to the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) during Pakistan's failed attempt to violate Indian airspace amid heightened tensions post-Operation Sindoor.

Speaking at a high-level press briefing in Delhi, Air Marshal AK Bharti stated, “Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border… Definitely, we have downed a few planes… Definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted. I have the number, these were hi-tech planes.”

The attempted airspace violation was reportedly part of a larger Pakistani response to India’s multi-agency strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, under Operation Sindoor. Intelligence inputs suggest that Pakistan aimed to target Indian military infrastructure, but their efforts were “largely unsuccessful,” according to Air Marshal AK Bharti.

While the exact number of Pakistani jets downed has not been disclosed, Air Marshal Bharti emphasized that all Indian pilots involved in the engagement returned safely. “All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he said.

The Air Marshal also noted that the Indian Armed Forces had no intention of counting casualties. “Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but to hit specific enemy targets. In case there have been [casualties], it is for them to count. Our job is to hit the target, not to count the body bags,” he asserted.

In Sunday's press briefing, India also provided proof of the terror camps dismantled in Pakistan's Bahawalpur and Muridke. Over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor on May 7, the Indian military added.

Nine terror targets were identified after careful deliberations and they were hit using precision weapons, Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai stated during the press briefing.

He added the Pakistan Army is reported to have lost 35 to 40 personnel between May 7 and 10 in the military offensives between the two sides.