Indian Drone Accidentally Struck Pakistan’s Kirana Hills During Operation Sindoor: Former CDS Anil Chauhan
- An Indian loitering munition struck the Kirana Hills area during Operation Sindoor.
- Former CDS General Anil Chauhan said the strike was not deliberately aimed at Pakistan’s nuclear facility.
- The drone was reportedly searching for Pakistani radars around Sargodha when it ran low on fuel.
- India had cleared a strike on Skardu, but bad weather forced the IAF to switch the target to Bholari.
GG NewsBureau
New Delhi, August 25 :The mystery surrounding the incident at Pakistan’s strategically important Kirana Hills during Operation Sindoor has been clarified by former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan. He confirmed that an Indian loitering munition did strike the Kirana Hills area, but the location was not deliberately selected as a target.
Speaking at the Vivekananda Centre in New Delhi, General Chauhan explained that India had deployed several loitering munitions around Sargodha and Kirana Hills to search for Pakistani radar installations during the military operation.
According to him, the drones were designed to remain airborne for a limited period while searching for designated targets. If a suitable target was not detected within that time, the munition could eventually strike a location in the vicinity.
General Chauhan said one such drone had been searching for radars around Sargodha when it apparently ran out of fuel near Kirana Hills and subsequently struck one of the hills. He indicated that the munition was likely an Israeli-designed Harop drone.
The former CDS also revealed details about a planned Indian Air Force strike on Skardu in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to him, the IAF had received clearance to attack the target. However, adverse weather conditions in the Skardu region forced the military to change the plan, with Bholari subsequently selected as the target.
The IAF’s strike on the Bholari military installation on May 10 became one of the most significant visuals of the air campaign. Satellite imagery later showed substantial damage to a hangar, including a large breach in its roof and debris scattered around the structure.
General Chauhan’s remarks provide further insight into the planning and execution of India’s military operations during Operation Sindoor and clarify that the Kirana Hills incident was an unintended consequence of a loitering munition searching for military targets.
