A Pakistani soldier stands guard in the area where Indian jets conducted air strike in Jaba near Balakot, in Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (Photo | AP) 
India

Was Jaish madrasa in Balakot hit by India? Not if these satellite images are to be believed

The March 4 images released by Planet Labs Inc, a San Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least six madrasa buildings standing, six days after the airstrike.

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High-resolution satellite images reviewed by Reuters appear to show the madrasa run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Balakot still standing despite the Indian government's claims that IAF fighter jets had hit the terrorist group's training camp and inflicted a large number of casualties.

The March 4 images released by Planet Labs Inc, a San Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least six madrasa buildings standing undamaged, six days after the air strike.

The image is said to be virtually unchanged from an April 2018 satellite photo of the seminary. There are no visible holes in the roofs of the buildings and no signs of uprooted trees or demolished walls.

The report quoted Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who has 15 years' experience in analysing satellite images of weapons sites and systems, as saying, "The high-resolution images don't show any evidence of bomb damage." 

On the day the IAF struck Balakot, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said that "a very large number of JeM terrorists were eliminated" in the attack.

BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday said 250 militants were killed. 

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