Cannot say how many terrorists were killed: Air Chief Marshall on Balakot strikes

Guwahati, March 4, 2019:

Air Chief Marshall Birender Singh Dhanoa, while addressing the press today, refused to comment on the number of casualties of the Balakot air strikes on February 26, which targeted the largest Jaish-e-Mohammed camp.

“That statement will be made by the Government as the Air Force is not in a position to make such statements. We don’t count human casualties, we count what targets we have hit or not”, he said.

Commenting on Abhinandan Varthaman’s return to service, Dhanoa said that it would be possible after he clears his medical fitness. “We don’t take chances with medical fitness of a pilot”, he added.

Meanwhile, despite BJP President Amit Shah’s comment that 250 militants were wiped out during the strike, the Indian Government has declined to comment on the exact details attacks.

It is to be mentioned that there is intense speculation over the number of casualties of the Balakot surgical strikes and there has been a political row over the efficacy of the strikes and the number of terrorists who were killed during the attack.