IAF chief's special sortie with squadron that bombed Balakot

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria took off in the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft to join the squadron that carried out the actual operation across the border in Balakot, for a sortie to commemorate the day.

First Published Feb 27, 2021, 7:02 PM IST | Last Updated Feb 27, 2021, 7:02 PM IST

Indian Air Force Chief ACM Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria today led the nation in honouring the squadron that carried out the Balakot Operation.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria took off in the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft to join the squadron for a sortie to commemorate the day.

The Balakot airstrikes were conducted in response to the February 14, 2019 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed after a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was targeted by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. 

After 12 days on February 26, fighter aircraft of IAF dropped bombs at the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. On the next day, Pakistan attempted to retaliate but the IAF fighter aircraft thwarted their attempt. 

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