'India will never forget their supreme sacrifice': Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Pulwama soldiers

Taking to social media X, the Congress leader wrote in a post that the country would never forget the supreme sacrifices made by the personnel in the terror attack.

"I pay my heartfelt salute and humble tribute to our brave soldiers martyred in the Pulwama terrorist attack.

India will never forget their supreme sacrifice," the post read.

Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi also paid tributes to the personnel on social media X and said that the country would be forever be indebted to the brave martyrs and their families.

"Salute and heartfelt tribute to our brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice in Pulwama terror attack. The country will always be indebted to the brave martyrs and their families. Jai Hind," the post read.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to the personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi said, "Homage to the courageous heroes we lost in Pulwama in 2019. The coming generations will never forget their sacrifice and their unwavering dedication to the nation."

On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy, killing 40 soldiers. Days after the attack, the Indian Air Force carried out multiple aerial strikes on February 26, 2019, at JeM terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot, killing a "large number" of terrorists and destroying their infrastructure.

The airstrike was launched in the early hours of February 26, and Pakistan's efforts to launch an offensive the next day to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir were thwarted by an alert IAF.

In the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane and chasing Pakistani jets, crossed over to PoK, where his aircraft was shot down. He was taken into custody by Pakistan. India also shot down a Pakistani fighter jet.