The PAF had dropped the H-4 Stand-Off Weapon (SOW), a precision-guided glide bomb, while retaliating to Balakot strike
Lahore (Pakistan Point News – 28th May, 2019) Two top Indian military commanders escaped the Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) bombing near an Indian defence installation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on February 27.
According to a report in The Print, the PAF dropped the H-4 Stand-Off Weapon (SOW), a precision-guided glide bomb, while retaliating to the February 26 ‘non-military', as claimed by Indian Air force, airstrike in Balakot to destroy alleged terror infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group.
According to the report, “two top Indian Army commanders — Northern Army Commander Lt Gen. Ranbir Singh and 16 Corps Commander Lt Gen. Paramjit Singh — had stepped out of the Brigade Headquarters “minutes before” the bomb fell.”
The bomb fell inside the compound of the Indian Army's brigade headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri sector.
Following the retaliatory strike, Pakistan military spokesperson Major Gen Asif Ghafoor claimed that the PAF set out to execute the attack in a way to "made sure that there was no collateral damage".
Nevertheless, Indian defence sources claim they heard in Pakistani radio communications that the PAF intended to hit Indian military assets.
Relations between India and Pakistan have taken a turn for the worst earlier this year. Tensions soared after a deadly attack in Kashmir on February 14, when a suicide bomber attacked an Indian security convoy, killing over 40 personnel. The attack was later claimed by Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The tragedy led to heightened tensions between the two South Asian neighbors and air raids exchange.
India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of supporting the militants and having a "direct hand" in the Kashmir incident. Pakistan, however, has rejected all allegations.
