Home ›› 28 May 2020 ›› World Biz
Indian security forces today prevented a major car bomb attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir by detecting and defusing a vehicle carrying 40-45 kg of improvised explosive devices (IED).
The plan had chilling similarities with last year's terror attack in Pulwama, when over 40 soldiers were killed as a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a CRPF convoy, the police said.
Based on intelligence inputs, a white Hyundai Santro car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a check point on Wednesday night, but it tried to accelerate and go through the barricade, said Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police.
"The security forces opened fire. The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the car laden with IED," IGP Kumar added. "We got intelligence about a possible attack. We were looking for a vehicle with IED since yesterday," he said.
"The terrorist intended to target vehicles of security forces. We are calling expert teams from outside. We suspect that the vehicle was carrying 40-45 kg of explosives," news agency ANI reported quoted IGP Kumar. He said the driver is suspected to be a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, who is also in touch with Jaish-e-Mohammed that was involved in last year's suicide attack on the CRPF convoy.
The car, along with the IED, was later destroyed by a bomb disposal squad. The massive explosion damaged several houses in the area.
"It (car) was kept under watch for the night. People in nearby houses were evacuated and the vehicle was destroyed on site by the bomb disposal squad as moving it would have been a serious threat," Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said.
IGP Kumar said it was a joint operation by the army, police and paramilitary forces.
After the terror attack in the same district on February 14, last year, India bombed a camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed deep inside Pakistan. An air battle also followed between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets.
In the last two months there has been a spurt in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir; 30 security forces personnel including officers have lost their lives. During this period, 38 terrorists have also been shot dead by security forces.
Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir's most wanted terrorists and the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed during an encounter in Pulwama earlier this month.
The spurt in terror attacks amid reports of infiltration by highly-trained terrorists from Pakistan poses a major security challenge even as the country fights the coronavirus crisis.
(Source: NDTV)
