Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (26 February) saluted the valour of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on completion of two years of the Balakot air strike conducted in Pakistan on February 26 two years ago, in response to the terrorist attack in Pulwama district of Jammu & Kashmir on 14 February 2019.

On this day, the IAF had entered Pakistan and avenged the Pulwama terror attack by destroying the terror camps of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Shah on Friday tweeted, "Today in 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had responded to the Pulwama terror attack and reiterated the country's policy against terrorism in 'New India'. I remember the brave martyrs (army personnel) of Pulwama and salute the valour of the Air Force. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the security of the country and our soldiers is paramount."

On 14 February, a car packed with a large quantity of explosives had rammed into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH). As a result, 42 CRPF personnel were martyred in this terrorist attack. Twelve days after this incident, the Indian Air Force conducted an airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot on the night of February 26 and destroyed terror camps.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)