A 2019 Pulwama-style car-bombing by a suicide bomber was prevented in south Kashmir on Thursday with security forces spotting and defusing a vehicle laden with over 40 kilos of explosives. The militant, however, managed to escape.
Read more on Indian Air Force strike in Balakot
“A timely action of security forces averted a major tragedy. A suicide attacker jumped two checkpoints before leaving a vehicle behind vehicle. The attacker left behind the vehicle late on Wednesday night at Ayegund area of Rajpora, Pulwama”, said Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar.
The police suspect that at least 40 to 45 kg of explosive material were fitted in the vehicle and a blast could have been similar to the 2019 Pulwama explosion that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
Hizb, Jaish behind act
“Explosives were fitted in the vehicle jointly by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Muhammad militants. Experts will study them”, the IGP said. The police have initiated an investigation if the explosives were procured locally or RDX was managed through any cross-Line of Control route.
Click here to read more on Pulwama attacks 2019
The IGP said the security agencies, including police, the Army and the CRPF, were getting inputs about the ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack plan. The explosives were defused by a bomb disposal squad team. “We concluded that 40 to 45kg of explosive material were used by militants after seeing that the vehicle went up 15 meters above the ground when the improvised explosive devices were being destroyed,” the IGP said.
A militant, identified as Adil, who works for the Hizb and the Jaish, and two other militants of these outfits were behind the act. “They were planning the suicide attack on 17th of Ramadhan [Jang-e-Badr], but couldn’t do it due to our intensified operations against militants,” he said. The IGP complimented all the security agencies for the successful operation.
Published - May 28, 2020 10:36 am IST
