We hit the target, we can't count casualties: IAF chief on Balakot strike
Coimbatore, Mar 4 (IBNS): The Indian Air Force (IAF) head, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, on Monday said the IAF had hit the target but cannot count how many people died in the Indian airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammad base in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on Feb 26, triggering a series of incidents that heightened the border tension with the hostile neighbour.
Air chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on the Balakot strike in a press conference here: "We don't count human casualties. We can't count how many people have died. It depends on how many people were there."
He said the Air Force is not in a position to clarify the number of people killed and that would be made known by the government.
"We planned to hit the target, we hit the target," he said, adding that they had not dropped bombs on jungles the other side would not have responded.
While there is an ongoing row over the impact of the Jaish camp strike and the number of people killed with Opposition raising the issue and targeting the BJP government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah has stated the figure is above 250.
However, the government is yet to give any figure except for the first press conference when the foreign secretary claimed a large number of casualty.
Earlier, Italian journalist Francesca Marino, who describes herself as a specialist of South Asia on Twitter, said her authentic sources confirmed the death toll was between 40 and 50 while 35-40 militants were injured.
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