Home Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a rally in Assam's Dhubri on Tuesday | Photo Credit: ANI

Dhubri: In a major confirmation of the number of casualties inflicted upon the Jaish-e-Mohammad due to the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike in Balakot, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian intelligence surveillance system, NTRO, had detected 300 active mobile phone connections at the camp before the strike. With the statement, the minister gave a tacit confirmation regarding the number of terrorists killed at JeM camp in Balakot in the IAF air strike.

Speaking at a rally in Dhubri in Assam on Tuesday, Home Minister Singh said, “Some people are asking how many were killed? India's respected and authentic NTRO surveillance system has said 300 mobile phones were active there (JeM terror camp in Balakot) when IAF jets dropped bombs.”

On Monday, news agency ANI had quoted sources as saying that the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) had begun the surveillance of the JeM camp in Balakot after the IAF was given the go-ahead to target the camp in Pakistan, in response to the Pulwama attack. The information of the possible active targets at the camp could give an indication of the actual number of terrorists killed in the Balakot strike. Also read: Days before IAF’s air strike, NTRO surveillance revealed JeM camp in Balakot had 300 active targets: Report

​

“During technical surveillance, it emerged that there was a presence of around 300 mobile phones with active signal strength inside the facility in the days leading up to the strike. The facility was destroyed by the IAF fighters,” the news agency had quoted sources as saying.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber had rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus plying CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF jawans. In response to the deadly terror attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets on February 26 crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and bombed the JeM terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.

However, over the past few days, a political slugfest erupted after the Opposition parties questioned the government over the actual number of terrorists killed in the air strike. On Sunday, BJP chief Amit Shah claimed that around 250 terrorists had been killed in the Balakot strike, with Opposition leaders questioning the veracity of the statement.

