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Pakistan targeted Amritsar on May 8, how India's air defence saved Golden Temple

Pakistan targeted Amritsar on May 8, how India's air defence saved Golden Temple

India Today19-05-2025

Pakistan targetted the Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar with missiles and drones after India's strikes against terror camps at nine locations. Major General Kartik C Seshadri, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15th Infantry Division, revealed on Monday that army air defence gunners shot down all the drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple.The Major General said the Indian army had anticipated Pakistan's move to target its military installations along with civilian establishments, including religious places such as the Golden Temple.advertisementHe said, "...Knowing that Pak Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated that they will target Indian military installations, civilian targets including religious places. Of these, Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent. We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple.:
He added that Pakistan carried out a massive air assault with unmanned aerial weapons, primarily drones and long-range missiles on May 8."We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this, and our braveheart and alert army air defence gunners thwarted Pakistan Army's nefarious designs and shot down all drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple. Thus not allowing even a scratch to come on our holy Golden Temple," he said.The Army on Monday showcased a demonstration of how Indian Air Defence systems, including the Akash missile system, L-70 Air Defence Guns, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks.#WATCH | Amritsar, Punjab: Indian Army shows a demo of how Indian Air Defence systems, including AKASH missile system, L-70 Air Defence Guns, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks. pic.twitter.com/yulFvSFqKv— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2025advertisementFurther, the Major General said that the armed forces targeted many places in Pakistan with "absolute precision" during Operation Sindoor, striking areas like Muridke and Bahawalpur, which house the headquarters of terrorist organisations."Of these (nine) targets, Muridke, which is in proximity to Lahore, houses the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba headquarters and also the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters at Bahawalpur, which were struck with absolute precision. Soon after the strikes, we issued a statement clarifying that we intentionally did not target any Pakistani military or civilian infrastructure," he added.India's Air Defence Systems proved their prowess when a rattled Pakistan rained down missiles and drones on many Indian cities but all of them were successfully destroyed and Indian side sustained minimal damage. The air defence system intercepted numerous drones, missiles, micro UAVs, and loitering munitions during the strikes that went on for four days before a ceasefire was agreed.

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