New Delhi : Satellite imagery to suggest that India hit Pakistan’s Kirana Hills, one of the storehouses of the country’s nuclear warheads, according to renowned OSINT expert Damien Symon. India’s retaliatory strikes, including those at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala, made Islamabad call for a ceasefire. It is believed that reinforced caves within the mountains are one of the sites of where the Pakistani military stores its nuclear warhead.
“We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there. I did not brief in my briefing yesterday,” said Air Marshal AK Bharti on May 12 responding to a question from a journalist during a tri-services briefing. Damien Symon shared Google Earth an image of Sargodha region of Pakistan that he claimed were from updated June 2025, saying that it showed the “impact location of India’s strike on Kirana Hills in May 2025”.
“No, this along with earlier imagery, neither indicate any subterranean impact or penetration, it’s just one side of a hill with nothing of value in its immediate vicinity, must’ve been a warning strike on India’s part, tunnels etc are further away & don’t show any damage,” replied Symon. Social media was abuzz with chatter on how Kirana Hills might have been hit in Operation Sindoor. Handles have shared images, videos and maps claiming a blast at the Kirana Hills in Sargodha.
Videos showed dense plumes of smoke rising from the base of the rugged Kirana Hills. But high-resolution satellite imagery was absent. Geolocation by India Today’s OSINT team placed the smoke near the hills, based on the footage posted on the day of the strikes. Operating under the handle @detresfa on X, Symon has garnered attention for exposing disinformation, such as manipulated images and false claims by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) during India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
His work includes confirming damage to Pakistani military installations, like the Sargodha airbase, and debunking fabricated narratives, such as doctored images of Indian airbases. Symon uses tools like LANDSAT, KawaSpace, and MazarVision imagery to provide verifiable evidence, contributing to discussions on digital disinformation and military transparency.
While the Mushaf airbase in Sargodha was confirmed as one of India’s missile targets, Air Marshal Bharti denied reports of any strike on the facility at Kirana Hills. India carried out strikes on terror camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) on May 7 after Pakistani terrorists on April 22 killed 26 people in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. After Pakistan targeted Indian military and civilian sites, India struck 11 military sites deep inside Pakistan, using precision weapons.