Almost two months since the Indian government denied attacking Pakistan’s nuclear-associated Kirana Hills during Operation Sindoor, fresh satellite images have renewed speculations regarding the contentious mission. The new visuals indicate a missile strike region in the sensitive Sargodha district where the Kirana Hills location is situated.
Precision air strikes were conducted by the Indian Air Force on May 10 as part of Operation Sindoor, retaliating for the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that took the lives of 26 civilians. Some of the suspected targets included vital military bases in Pakistan, including sites associated with the strategic infrastructure of the country.
Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher and satellite imagery analyst, published the report on X, sharing images from Google Earth taken in June 2025. “Imagery update from Google Earth of the Sargodha region, Pakistan, taken in June 2025, reveals 1. The location of India’s strike on Kirana Hills in May 2025; 2. Runways repaired at Sargodha airbase after India’s strikes in May 2025,” Symon wrote.
Imagery update from Google Earth of the Sargodha region, Pakistan, captured in June 2025, shows –
1 – the impact location of India’s strike on Kirana Hills in May 2025
2 – repaired runways at Sargodha airbase post India’s strikes in May 2025 pic.twitter.com/BLOXYB9fKP— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) July 18, 2025
The new satellite images not only indicated an impact site at Kirana Hills but also revealed newly repaired runways at the Sargodha airbase just next to it. The rapid repair of the facility indicates its importance as a strategic priority of the Pakistani military.
Kirana Hills has been described as a highly secured location linked to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. It is said to contain an underground nuclear arms storage facility and also been utilized for nuclear-related experiments, such as subcritical tests since the 1980s.
In spite of mounting visual proof, Pakistan has so far remained silent on whether it was attacked by a missile at its sensitive nuclear facility or not.
The Indian Air Force also formally dismissed targeting Kirana Hills. At a May 12 press conference, Director General of Air Operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti, responded to a specific query on the supposed strike. “Thank you for informing us that Kirana Hills contains some nuclear facilities. We were not aware of it. We have not struck Kirana Hills. I did not mention it in my briefing yesterday,” he stated. His faint smile in response, though, caused global attention on social media and further roused speculations.
Independent analysts still evaluate the reliability and implications of the satellite discoveries since the strategic and political implications of Operation Sindoor are still under close observation.
