The news has come amid continuing political debate in India over the efficacy of the February 26 Balakot air strikes in Pakistan

New Delhi: Amid continuing political debate in India over the efficacy of the February 26 Balakot airstrikes in Pakistan, a foreign journalist has confirmed that up to 170 terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group were killed in the Indian Air Force action.

The IAF air strikes in Balakot came days after the deadly Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were martyred. JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The news report by Francesca Marino in stringerasia.it has come just days after JeM chief Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council’s Sanctions Committee after China lifted its technical hold.

The journalist reports quoting sources that while the Indian Air Force bombed the JeM camp at 3.30 am on February 26, 2019, a unit of the Pakistan Army reached the spot at around 6 am. The Pakistan Army unit came from their camp in Shinkiari, located some 20 kilometres away.

The report points out that Pakistan Army treats Shinkiari as its base camp and the Junior Leaders Academy is situated there.

The Army unit quickly evacuated the injured to a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) camp in Shinkiari, where Pakistan Army doctors were brought in for treatment.

The journalist claims that between 130 to 170 JeM terrorists were killed in the air strikes, including 20 who died during the treatment. Some 45 injured are still undergoing treatment at the HuM camp.

Further, the Army has not allowed those injured who have recovered to leave the camp.

Among those who were killed in the IAF action included 11 trainers. While some of them were involved in bomb-making, others were imparting weapons training. The report said two such trainers were from Afghanistan.

The report goes on to state that efforts were made to ensure the news on the fatalities was not leaked to the media. In fact, the kin of terrorists killed or injured were visited by JeM cadres and given cash compensation.

The Pakistan Army is now in control of the JeM camp, from where all traces of the terror group and its chief Masood Azhar have been removed. Even the local police is not allowed access to the bombed facility.