Mumbai, March 5: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said Indians have to know the exact number of terrorists killed in the air strike conducted by the Indian Air Force in Balakot on February 26. In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped a 'bomb' on the 'burning issues of inflation, unemployment, Rafale deal', leaving opposition parties 'disappointed'.

"The question that how many terrorists were killed in the airstrikes is not just being asked by the political opponents of Modi. The media of England, USA, etc too have raised this question. Citizens of the country have the right to know what and how much harm has been caused to the enemy by the defence forces. We do not think the morale of our forces is being lowered by asking for it," Shiv Sena said. IAF Air Strike Wasn't Meant to Kill But Send Out a Message to Pakistan, Says Union Minister.

The BJP ally in Maharashtra said questions such as 'How many terrorists were killed in IAF air strike? and 'Where did the 300-kg RDX used in Pulwama attack come from?' will be asked till the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sena went on to say that the air strike has diverted attention from crucial issues. Issues such as Ram temple in Ayodhya, repealing of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the agrarian crisis have taken a backseat after the air strike, it stated.

Interestingly, Shiv Sena and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have decided to contest upcoming Lok Sabha polls and assembly elections in Maharashtra together. Nearly 12 days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, the IAF carried out bombing on terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan. Amit Shah Says IAF Air Strike on Pakistan Killed More Than 250 Terrorists.

"In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhle said on February 26.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2019 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).