The Indian Armed Forces have launched a nine-part attack against locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled territories, New Delhi has confirmed.
Strikes, which were part of India's "Operation Sindoor" onslaught, resulted in huge explosions across at least three cities.
Pakistan vowed to respond to the "cowardly attack", adding that Islamabad "will respond to this at a time and place of its choosing".
Huge explosions were heard near Muzaffarabad, with a power outage soon impacting the Azad Kashmir city.
Footage shows the moment a huge explosion lit up the sky in Kashmir
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A city view of Muzaffarabad, Kashmir
REUTERS
India's strikes on Pakistan mapped
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Pakistani security officials claimed the strikes killed 26 people and injured 46 more.
The bombardment struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, with a child being killed at the location Indian intelligence claimed to be a headquarters for the Jaish-e-Mohamed terror group.
New Delhi stressed it targeted at least nine sites "where terrorist attacks against India have been planned".
"Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted," the statement said.
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Explosions have rocked nine seperate sites
REUTERS
The city of Muzaffarabad was plunged into darkness following a blackout
REUTERS
A flare lights up hills near main town of Poonch district
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It added: "India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution."
The Indian Army also reported seven civilians had been killed and 30 more had sustained injuries after Pakistani troops conducted aerial shelling of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India stressed its Operation Sindoor strike came "in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered".
Islamabad denied any responsibility for the attack on April 22 amid accusations from India, with little-known terror group, Kashmir Resistance, ultimately claiming responsibility for the attack.
New Delhi is expected to provide a "detailed briefing" on Operation Sindoor later today.
Security personnel cordon off a street near the site of a strike in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir
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India fired missiles at Pakistani territory early on May 7 in a major escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Islamabad vowing retaliation
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People panic after the Indian army launches an attack at the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistan
Chudary Naseer/Anadolu via Getty Images
Following the terror attack, the Indian Army said: "Justice is served."
The Indian Army later alleged: "Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing Artillery in Bhimber Gali in Poonch - Rajauri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner."
Islamabad, which is launching counter-strikes following the attack, also claimed it shot down five Indian jets in retaliation.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: "Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given."
