India fires missiles into Pakistan, killing at least 1 child, officials say

India fired missiles across the border into Pakistani-administered territory in at least three locations early Wednesday local time, killing at least one child and injuring two other people, Pakistani security officials said. India said it was striking infrastructure used by militants.  

The strikes came amid soaring tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors over last month’s militant attack on tourists in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for backing the militant attack, which Islamabad has denied. 

The missiles early Wednesday struck locations in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and in the country’s eastern Punjab province, according to three Pakistani security officials. One of them struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed, and a woman and man were injured, one official said.

The officials said Pakistan had launched retaliatory strikes, without providing any details. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record.

The Pakistani army spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, told ARY News that the missiles were launched from within Indian territory and that no Indian aircraft had entered Pakistani airspace.

“This was a cowardly attack targeting innocent civilians under the cover of darkness,” Sharif told the broadcaster.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Trump called the strikes “a shame.” 

“We just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval,” Mr. Trump said. “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. You know, they’ve been fighting for many many decades, and centuries actually, if you really think about it. No, I just hope it ends very quickly.”

India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that at least nine sites were targeted “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 ministry said, adding that “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”

“We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,” it added.

A spokesperson for the State Department said it was aware of the reports but had “no assessment to offer at this time.”  

“This remains an evolving situation,  and we are closely monitoring developments,” the spokesperson said.

Last week, Pakistan’s government claimed it had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to take military action within hours in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack.