By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA, with Masroor GILANI in Islamabad
Indian commandos carried out a series of lightning strikes Thursday along the de facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir, provoking furious charges of "naked aggression" from its nuclear-armed neighbour.
Amid anger in India over a recent deadly assault on one of its army bases in Kashmir, officials said troops had conducted "surgical strikes" several kilometres (miles) inside the Pakistan-controlled side of the disputed territory to prevent attacks being planned on major Indian cities.
The strikes aimed at "neutralising the terrorists" had caused "multiple casualties", according to Indian officials.
Pakistan said two of its soldiers had been killed and nine more wounded in what it described as small arms fire and dismissed the talk of surgical strikes as an "illusion" designed to whip up "media hype".
Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, director-general of military operations, announced news of the strikes in New Delhi, sending shares on the Indian stock market sliding nearly two percent.
"Some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launchpads along the Line of Control," Singh told reporters.
"The Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launchpads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them."
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