Latest news with #Kirana-I
India.com
16-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Pakistan's Kirana Hills might be a ticking time bomb with suspected radioactive leakage, Ukraine witnessed similar…, how will it affect India
Home News Pakistan's Kirana Hills might be a ticking time bomb with suspected radioactive leakage, Ukraine witnessed similar…, how will it affect India Pakistan's Kirana Hills might be a ticking time bomb with suspected radioactive leakage, Ukraine witnessed similar…, how will it affect India Radioactive leakage from Kirana Hills will be a big and dangerous situation for Pakistan. (Representational image: Kirana Hills: Kirana Hills is a strategic military area located in the Sargodha district of Punjab province in Pakistan, associated with Pakistan's nuclear programme. Between 1983 and 1990, nuclear tests were conducted here, known as 'Kirana-I'. The purpose of these tests was to evaluate the design of nuclear weapons. Recently, there have been reports of radioactive leakage following military conflict between India and Pakistan. Egyptian aircraft On May 11, a cargo plane from the Egyptian Air Force was seen taking off from an airport in the Mera district of Pakistan. The plane arrived suddenly and departed shortly after. This incident occurred at a time when India carried out airstrikes in several areas of Pakistan. Following this, there are speculations that the plane landed there with Boron, possibly due to concerns about radioactive leaks resulting from these attacks. Among the locations targeted in these attacks is the Noor Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, which is considered to be the headquarters of Pakistan's nuclear command. Boron is used in the process of generating nuclear energy to capture neutrons. This can slow down or stop the reaction rate when needed. Nuclear radiation is hazardous to humans and the environment. Boron carbide is a special material that can effectively block neutrons, which is why it is used for protection against radiation. Three earthquakes in three days Pakistan has been shaken by three earthquakes in three days, causing not only tremors felt on the ground but also sparking speculations. This seismic activity primarily occurred in the northern and western regions of the country. This incident comes at a time when tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi are at a peak, especially following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and India's subsequent military action. On May 12, Monday, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan, following two consecutive earthquakes on May 10—one in the morning with a magnitude of 4.7 and another later with a magnitude of 4.0. What did Indian Air Force say? The Indian Air Force has also dismissed any attack on nuclear sites as baseless and clarified that their strikes were limited to specific military targets and did not target the Kiran Hills. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has explicitly rejected these claims and stated that there has been no radioactive leakage from any of Pakistan's nuclear facilities. Kirana Hills stretch for about 80 kilometers and are situated approximately 170 kilometers away from the Indian border surrounded by a forest. If there is any radioactive leakage from Kirana Hills, it will be a big and dangerous situation for Pakistan. Not only the nearby residents but also animals, greenery, and agriculture will be under severe threat. This intensity of this situation can be gauged from the 1986 incident at the 'Chernobyl Nuclear Plant' in the Soviet Union (USSR). Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Disaster On April 25, 1986, maintenance work was underway at Reactor Number 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the then USSR. The workers wanted to investigate how to keep the reactor cool in case of a power outage. During a routine test, the system was shut down for just 20 seconds, but just seven seconds after the test began, there was a sudden surge of energy. Efforts were made to shut down the reactor, but there was another loud explosion. This caused the interior of the reactor to rupture, releasing toxic radioactive gas into the atmosphere. This explosion spread approximately 520 dangerous radioactive elements into the environment. Immediately after the accident, two workers died, and 134 employees and emergency personnel suffered from severe radiation sickness, of whom 28 died. A scientific committee of the United Nations reported that more than 6,000 children and adolescents developed thyroid cancer due to radiation from this incident. It is estimated that the Chernobyl accident caused about $235 billion in damages. Today, Belarus, which had about 23% of its land contaminated by this incident, lost a fifth of its total agricultural land. In 1991, Belarus was the most active in dealing with this disaster, spending 22% of its total budget solely on Chernobyl-related efforts. The explosion was so powerful that its poisonous particles spread to large parts of the Soviet Union (now Belarus, Ukraine and Russia). According to official reports, 31 people died immediately in the accident and about 600,000 firefighters were exposed to heavy radiation. About 400,000 people were relocated, but millions remained in areas where their health was affected by continuous low levels of radiation exposure. About 8.4 million people were said to have been exposed to radiation and about 1.55 lakh square kilometers of land in the three countries was contaminated. About 115,000 people were evacuated from areas around the reactor and then about 220,000 people were resettled in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The largest uncontrolled release of radioactive materials into the environment occurred due to this accident as for almost 10 days, a large amount of radioactive material continued to spread into the air. This radioactive cloud spread across the entire Northern Hemisphere, and large areas of the former Soviet Union, as well as many parts of Europe, accumulated radioactive materials. This caused damage to land, water, and living organisms, especially having a severe impact on the lives and economic conditions of people in large parts of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Cases of thyroid cancer increased among those who were children or young adults during the 1986 accident. This increase was particularly observed in certain regions of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. A 30-kilometer zone around the plant is referred to as the 'exclusion zone,' where people do not live. Kirana Hills is a hilly area where uranium mining has taken place. This area has been associated with radioactive activities. The nearby districts include: Khushab (population 1.5 million) – to the west Zhang (population 3 million) – to the east. If there is radioactive leakage from Kirana Hill, it could pose a significant threat to the lives of millions in Pakistan as well as India. For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest World News on More Stories
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Claims Swirls As India And Pakistan Assess Results Of Latest Conflict
Operations are now on pause, after a ceasefire brought escalating hostilities between the India and Pakistan to a standstill over the weekend, although the situation remains tense. There have been claims and counterclaims, especially around the air war and possible shootdowns, as well as speculation about the targets of the many airstrikes by both sides. Overall, the information space has been extremely murky, with contradictory reports from official channels and rampant speculation across social media. One of the most alarming claims is that India targeted a nuclear facility in Pakistan, claims that New Delhi has refuted. Unconfirmed reports had suggested that India's targets included the nuclear facility at Kirana Hills, in the mountainous Sargodha district of Punjab, Pakistan. The site has been used in the past for nuclear testing and, according to Indian accounts, today serves as a nuclear weapons storage site connected to the adjacent Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Mushaf. Allegedly, a combination of loitering munitions and penetrating weapons was used to target the hardened facility. Kirana Hills, Pakistan underground facilities, storage for nuclear warheadsThe site was used to conduct nuclear tests in 1983 (Kirana-I) — Shiro (@ShiroBarks) May 10, 2025 In a press conference today, the Director General of Air Operations for the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, denied any Indian attack on Kirana Hills. 'Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installation,' Bharti said, in response to a question on the topic. 'We did not know about it. And we have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there.' #OperationSindoor | Delhi: When asked if India hit Kirana Hills, Air Marshal AK Bharti says, "Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installation, we did not know about it. We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there." — ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2025 At a press briefing on Sunday, Bharti had presented a list of targets that he said Indian forces did hit, including Pakistani air defense radars, airfields, and other military installations, providing visual evidence to back up his claims. All lessons in target imagery have been learned from 2019 Balakot. Armed forces have ensured clear imagery of Pak jihadi targets being struck on May 7. — Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) May 11, 2025 Visible damage at Pakistan's Jacobabad Air Base, with an Indian Air Force strike reportedly hitting a hangar on the main apron. Minor, possible secondary damage to the ATC building is also detresfa_ — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 11, 2025 A great infographic by @Lone_wolf110 of India's coordinated strikes on Pakistani airbases, radar sites, and cantonments on 9–10 May before the ceasefire was missiles, loitering munitions, and ALMs were used to hit high-value targets across the depth of… — Indo-Pacific News – Geo-Politics & Defense (@IndoPac_Info) May 10, 2025 There have been unverified claims that airstrikes destroyed a PAF Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft on the ground at PAF Base Bholari, although there is no evidence to support this. The claims may have originated in reports that a high-ranking member of the squadron operating that aircraft was killed during an air raid on the base. Pakistani media reported the death of Sqn. Ldr. Usman Yousaf, together with four other people, said to be the result of an Indian missile attack a few hours before the ceasefire was agreed. Video of Pakistan's Bholari Airbase in Sindh province after Indian missile strikes The base houses squadrons of F-16 and JF-17 fighter jets & AWACS SAAB 2000 Early Warning Airbase is a strategic base that is part of Pakistan's nuclear forces. It's an… — Indo-Pacific News – Geo-Politics & Defense (@IndoPac_Info) May 10, 2025 Imagery released by an Indian firm (KAWASPACE) spotlights damage at Pakistan's Bholari Airbase – the Indian Air Force strike appears to have severely damaged a hangar, debris visible along with structural damage, runway proximity = possible quick reaction role for the hangar (?) — Damien Symon (@detresfa_) May 11, 2025 The Indian attacks were in response to what New Delhi says were attempts by Pakistan to target no fewer than 26 Indian locations, including air bases in Udhampur, Pathankot, and Adampur, on the night of May 9-10. Prior to that, on the night of May 7-8, the IAF had launched Operation Sindoor, with attacks that it says hit nine targets that it described as 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and on Pakistan's side of the disputed Kashmir region. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully executed its assigned tasks in Operation Sindoor, with precision and professionalism. Operations were conducted in a deliberate and discreet manner, aligned with National the Operations are still ongoing, a detailed… — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 11, 2025 Indian military spokespersons said that the targets belonged to two Islamist militant groups: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). New Delhi said it launched this operation as retaliation for the deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. That attack, in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Pakistan acknowledged that six locations on its territory were targeted in Operation Sindoor but claimed that none of them were militant camps. A Pakistan military spokesperson said that at least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured in the strikes. In a statement, JeM said that 10 relatives of its leader, Masood Azhar, were killed in an Indian strike. India releases names of Pakistani officials present at the funeral of LeT terrorist Abdul Rauf, killed in Ops SindoorFrom Military -Lt Gen Fayyaz Hussain-Maj Gen Rao Imran-Brig Mohd FurqanFrom Administration-Dr Usman AnwarPakistan Punjab Legislator -Malik Sohaib Ahmed — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 11, 2025 After trading these various blows, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between the two countries on Saturday, pulling the two nuclear-armed nations back from the brink of possible full-scale war. The ceasefire includes a bilateral agreement to stop military operations across land, air, and sea domains. With the situation rapidly escalating, it is very likely that both sides were looking for an off-ramp. In comments today, Trump said that the United States has 'stopped a nuclear conflict' by intervening with India and Pakistan. He said, 'I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed. So I'm very proud of that.' "We're going to do alot of trade with Pakistan, we're going to do a lot of trade with India. We are negotiating with India right now, We'll soon be negotiating with Pakistan. We stopped a nuclear conflict", says US President @realDonaldTrump. — Anas Mallick (@AnasMallick) May 12, 2025 In contrast to Pakistani officials, who heralded the U.S. role in brokering the ceasefire, Modi said that the cessation of hostilities came after Pakistan reached out to India's head of military operations. The Indian prime minister also accused Pakistan of 'nuclear blackmailing,' saying that this would not be tolerated in any future conflict between the two countries. Both countries have suggested that they could be open to further negotiations, although they also have their own conditions. Modi said today that 'if we talk to Pakistan, it will be about terrorism only … it will be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.' Also today, Pakistani security officials said that the terms of the ceasefire included an agreement that future talks would be held in a third country, with one suggestion being the United Arab Emirates. So far, it seems, the ceasefire has continued to hold. There have been no confirmed reports of renewed shelling or other exchanges of fire across the disputed border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan. 'The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, and other areas along the international border,' The Indian Army said in a statement on Sunday night. After a phone call between military officials from India and Pakistan, both sides have also agreed to reduce their troop presence at the border. Meanwhile, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams are working to defuse unexploded munitions in Indian-administered Kashmir, while tens of thousands of people who had been evacuated from their villages in border areas are returning home. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has ordered the reopening of 32 airports in the west of the country that were effected by the recent conflict with Pakistan. — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 12, 2025 With the pause in hostilities, the two sides have been making claims about their alleged military successes. 'All our military bases and systems continue to remain fully operational and ready to undertake any mission,' the IAF's Air Marshal Bharti said today. BIG BREAKING ALL Indian air and military bases are intact, operational and ready to continue operations at short notice if deemed necessary, says DG Air Ops — Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) May 12, 2025 'Another highlight was the stellar performance of indigenous air defense weapons like the Akash system,' Bharti added, in reference to the domestically produced surface-to-air missile system. With one senior Pakistani security source having described to CNN a huge air battle involving 125 jets, fighting for over an hour, it's not surprising that there have been flurries of claims and counterclaims about what exactly happened and who came out on top. There has also been a steady flow of new imagery posted to social media, together with claims, frequently unsubstantiated, about the respective nations' losses, especially in the air war. With so much propaganda circulating and information operations ongoing, all open-source imagery has to be taken as unconfirmed. One video appears to provide a better view of the engine from one of the IAF's French-made combat jets, now widely interpreted to be one of the two M88 turbofans from a Rafale. Previous imagery, likely from the same crash site, purports to show parts of a Rafale's tailfin and rudder lying in a field, said to be in Bathinda, Punjab. The wreckage bears the serial number BS-001, which would identify it as the first single-seat Rafale EH to be delivered to the IAF. Additional unverified imagery purports to show the remains of the downed Rafale being recovered by the Indian military. Much clearer footage of Rafale-M88 engine debris spotted again in Bathinda, India.#RafaleDown — International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) May 11, 2025 May 7, Indian military recovers rafale fighter wreckage in Aklia village near Goniana Mandi in Bathinda. — 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) May 11, 2025 Pakistani security sources have posted claims of five IAF fighters shot down, including three Rafales. So far, there are reports of one Rafale shootdown confirmed by a high-ranking French intelligence official, speaking to CNN, with French authorities meanwhile looking into possible further Rafale losses. Another video, which began to circulate widely over the weekend, shows the remains of another engine, apparently from a Russian-made IAF fighter. The engine in the video appears to be an RD-33 series turbofan as used in the MiG-29 Fulcrum. Notably, a single MiG-29 is among the claims of IAF jets downed by the PAF, as well as one Russian-made Su-30MKI Flanker. However, the PAF's JF-17 uses a derivative of the same engine, the RD-93, so that possibility cannot be ruled out. | The remains of a Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force that was shot down by Pakistan a few days ago were found in the Jammu & Kashmir of the MiG-29's RD-33 turbofan engine can be seen among the debris. — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) May 11, 2025 Looks like an are used on MiG-29s and JF-17s. — Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) May 11, 2025 With aircraft remaining in their respective airspaces and lobbing air-to-air missiles at each other from long distances, at least according to official accounts, it's also not surprising that more examples of these weapons have been located as well. Indian Army:Their planes were prevented from coming inside our border. So, we don't have wreckage with us, but definitely, we have downed a few Pakistani planes; numbers, we would not like to hazard a guess out here… I would not like to put a figure at this time. — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 11, 2025 Further examples of the Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missile, which arms the PAF's JF-17 and J-10, and which you can read about in more detail here, have appeared. The fourth PL-15E missile P15E82204??? — 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) May 12, 2025 On the Indian side, imagery shows evidence of Israeli-made Derby ER and Python 5 missiles, although it should be noted that these could be air-to-air missiles from an IAF Tejas fighter, or they could originate from an Indian SPYDER surface-to-air missiles system, which uses the same types of effector. You can read more about these and other air-to-air missiles used by both India and Pakistan in our previous review of the topic, here. Wreckage of Python V and Derby missiles have been found in Jalandhar, have used the SpyDer SHORADs quite extensively in the last few days to shoot down incoming Paki kamikaze drones and A2G missiles. — Arihant_Ray (@Ray70409890) May 10, 2025 India also made extensive use of other Israeli-supplied equipment, in the form of significant numbers of drones launched toward Pakistan. The wreckage of another IAF munition, the SCALP EG air-launched cruise missile, which arms the Rafale, has also appeared in recent imagery. It's not clear if the weapon was successfully intercepted by Pakistani air defenses or if it suffered some kind of malfunction, but the warhead appears to be still intact. As per PAF multiple IAF SCALP-EG ALCMs (launched by IAF Rafales) were intercepted by Pakistani air defense far I have been able to find wreckage of 1 x SCALP-EG with a fully intact unexploded warhead. Looking for more. — Farooq Bhai (@FarooqB90714421) May 11, 2025 Further evidence of India's use of its BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles has also emerged. Also known by the designation PJ-10, this ramjet-powered weapon was developed and manufactured as a collaborative effort between India and Russia. The BrahMos is available in ground-launched, air-launched, sub-launched, and ship-launched versions, and the missile has a reported range of between 300-500 kilometers (186-311 miles). CONFIRMED: At least one Indian BrahMos cruise missile, developed by Russia and produced in India, was intercepted over Jacobabad during the May 10th attack on PAF Airbase wreckage was found scattered across different locations in Jacobabad, including components that… — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 12, 2025 Ominously, Prime Minister Modi has said that his country's military has only 'paused' its actions against Pakistan and would 'retaliate on its own terms' to any further attacks. The Indian leader added that he was 'monitoring every step of Pakistan.' While a ceasefire might be holding for now, the stakes are as high as ever. But at least both sides chose to take the off-ramp before things escalated further. Contact the author: thomas@
