Loitering munition may have hit Pakistan's Kirana Hills: Ex-military chief
What's the story
Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said that India's Operation Sindoor in May 2025 may have inadvertently struck Pakistan's Kirana Hills, suspected to house a nuclear installation. The operation was launched after a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 26 people on April 22, 2025. Speaking at an event in Delhi on Tuesday, Chauhan clarified that the Indian military did not intend to target a nuclear site during the operation.
Munitions impact
Loitering munitions were sent to look for radars near Sargodha
Chauhan explained that loitering munitions were sent to look for radars near Sargodha, about 10km from Kirana Hills.
He said that the munition had a two-hour endurance and that if they did not find a target within that time, they would descend and strike somewhere else.
"It must have come and hit one of those hills... even Pakistani media showed some kind of images in which there was smoke coming out of Kirana Hills," he said.
External influence
Indian Harop ran out of fuel
Speaking at the Vivekananda Centre in New Delhi, he clarified that the incident was completely unintentional.
According to Chauhan, the Israeli-designed Harop was sent to the Sargodha area to find and destroy Pakistani military radar installations. However, the munition failed to identify its intended target and continued to search while depleting its available fuel.
The drone eventually depleted its fuel supply, falling and crashing in the Kirana Hills area, some 10 kilometers north of Sargodha.
Strategic choices
Air Chief asked me whether to strike Sargodha, says Chauhan
The Indian Air Force had confirmed hitting Sargodha's Pakistani air base but denied targeting Kirana Hills.
Chauhan also said he approved the Indian Air Force strike on Sargodha even after Pakistan reached out for talks.
He said, "The Air Chief asked me whether he should strike Sargodha. I said, 'Go ahead.'"
Another target was Skardu, but bad weather led to Bholari being selected instead.