Tensions between India and Pakistan after the attack of an Islamist camp on the Pakistani territory of Kashmir

India announced Tuesday that it had conducted a "preemptive strike" in which it had killed a "large number" of members of an Islamist group in Kashmir under Pakistani control. for what Islamabad denounced a "violation" of the disputed border.

L & # 39; attack, announced New Delhi, was against an Islamist training camp belonging to the group responsible for the suicide attack that left some 40 dead Indian paramilitaries, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM).

"India has attacked the largest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, in which many terrorists, coaches, commanders and jihadists prepared for suicide bombings have been eliminated."said Vijay Gokhale, head of Indian diplomacy, at a press conference.

There are two places called Balakot in Pakistan: one located almost in line with the ceasefire in Kashmir and the other further in Pakistani territory, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. New Delhi did not specify which of the two was attacked.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM, the army of Muhammad)), one of the most active armed groups of the separatist rebellion in Kashmir, New suicide bombings in Indiasaid the Indian government.

"In the face of imminent danger, an immediate preventive attack was necessary"Gokhale said.

The field was located in a forest, on top of a hill, far from the civilian population, said the Indian diplomat.

Pakistan had previously said Tuesday that it was repelling a brief incursion of the Indian air force over Kashmir.

India "violated the line of control" (which in fact serves as a border between the two countries of the territory of Kashmir), accused the spokesperson of the Pakistani Armed ForcesGeneral Asif Ghafoor on Twitter.

"The Air Force was mobilized, the Indian planes are gone"he said.

The Indian aircraft made their incursion on the side of the Muzaffarabad sector, Pakistan's capital of Kashmir, he added in a second tweet. They entered a "3 to 4 miles" (4 to 6 km) on the territory, he said later.

"Faced with the timely and effective intervention of the Pakistani Air Force, they hastily dropped a useful cargo while fleeing near Balakot, there are no casualties no damage " indicated. It is not clear for the moment what type of cargo has been processed.

The general then published photos showing, according to him, the impact of the load and twisted metal parts in a forest sector.

India has long accused Pakistan of supporting the rebels of Islamist rebels and the armed rebellion in Kashmir, accusations rejected by the Pakistani government.

The two South Asian nuclear powers have been fighting over the Himalayan region of Kashmir for seven decades.

"The existence of training facilities of this size, capable of training hundreds of jihadists, can not function without the authorities realizing it", maintained the Indian diplomat.

The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi met Tuesday morning with the safety committee.

The February 14 attack provoked a wave of indignation in India with demands for retribution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a tough image and is aiming for a second term in the spring.

Pakistani military badyst Hasan Askari said that "The initiative taken by India to satisfy its public opinion is dangerous".

Islamabad, which refuses to favor infiltrations of Islamist militants in Indian Kashmir as well as the activities of armed separatist rebels, already threatened to respond in case of Indian retaliation.

On Friday, they announced that they had taken control of a complex that they suspected was the headquarters of the JeM group in Bahawalpur (center), attended by some 600 students and 70 teachers, according to the ministry. of the Interior.

(With information from AFP)