New Delhi: In a stunning revelation, Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a commander of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has accepted that Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian military caused a devastating blow to LET's nerve centre in Muridke, razing what he described as its headquarters at Markaz-e-Taiba on the intervening night of May 6–7, 2025.
Rauf is a US-designated global terrorist. A video shows him addressing a gathering, saying that the strike was "a very big attack" and conceding that the complex had been reduced to rubble.
"What happened on May 6-7, that place is no longer a mosque. Today, we cannot even sit there. It is finished; it has collapsed," he said. A video of his speech has surfaced.
Rauf was reportedly speaking at a graduation ceremony for future Lashkar commanders in Muridke.
He further said, "It was a very big attack. Allah protected us and saved us.” He also admitted that the graduates were moved out of the Muridke training camp shortly before the strike took place.
Rauf has been the operational commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, involved in the training of terrorists and in launching them from Pakistan Army-backed launchpads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Rauf had earlier led the funeral prayers of terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor, images of which had gone viral at the time. Now, months later, his words have torn away the last shreds of plausible deniability over what stood in Muridke and what was lost there.
Earlier, Rauf had publicly admitted that Chinese weapons and equipment were used by Pakistan and LeT during the confrontation that followed Operation Sindoor.
