07-05-2025
Militant group chief says relatives killed in India strike
Militant group chief says relatives killed in India strike
6 minutes ago
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Frances Mao
BBC News
Reporting from London
Umer Draz Nangiana
BBC Urdu
Reporting from Bahawalpur
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Reuters
Coffins laid out at a funeral for those killed in a strike on a madrasa in Bahawalpur
The Pakistan-based leader of a militant group has said 10 of his relatives have been killed in a missile strike by India.
Masood Azhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), said his older sister and her husband, his nephew and his nephew's wife, his niece and five children from his family were killed in a strike on a mosque in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
India launched strikes on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday night. Islamabad called the strikes an "act of war".
India said it acted in response to a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago that killed 25 Indians and one Nepali. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack.
Indian police alleged that two of the attackers were Pakistani nationals, with Delhi accusing Pakistan of supporting militants - a charge Islamabad denies.
India said it targeted sites on Tuesday night "from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed".
Pakistan said six locations have been hit, but denies India's allegations of these being terrorist infrastructure.
India said JeM's headquarters in Bahawalpur, 100km inside Pakistan, was hit.
Video footage of the mosque, assessed by BBC Verify, showed one of its domes had collapsed and extensive damage occurred inside, including two holes in the roof and one in the ground.
In Bahawalpur on Wednesday, crowds were mourning those killed in the strikes overnight in funeral processions through the streets.
Local residents told the BBC they were angry about the attack, but also worried about Pakistan's potential response.
