India marks Balakot air raid anniversary

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tributes to the courage of the Indian Airforce on the second anniversary of the airstrikes on terror camps around Balakot town inside Pakistan.

New Delhi:On the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday saluted the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and said "the success of strikes has shown India's strong will to act against terrorism".

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"On the anniversary of Balakot Air Strikes, I salute the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force. The success of Balakot strikes has shown India's strong will to act against terrorism. We are proud of our armed forces who keep India safe and secure," the Defence Minister tweeted.

On February 14, Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) targeted a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway near Pulwama in South Kashmir killing 40 CPRF personnel. Days later IAF launched an air-strike on a JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The air-strike was launched in the early hours of February 26 and Pakistan's efforts to launch an offensive the next day to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir was thwarted by an alert IAF.

In the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane and chasing Pakistani jets, crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was shot down.

He was taken into custody by Pakistan before he was freed. India also shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet during the engagement.

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(with input from agencies)