Major terror attack averted in J&K, claim officials

Indian security forces say they have prevented a big car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. They stopped a vehicle carrying over 20 kg of improvised explosive device (IED). This is enough to carry out a major attack.

Police said the car had a fake registration number and was signalled to stop at a check point this morning. But it tried to rush through the barricade after which security forces opened fire. A few rounds were fired after which the owners abandoned the vehicle and fled.

On inspection, the police found explosives in a drum on the rear seat. They kept a watch and the people in the nearby houses were evacuated. The bomb disposal squads were called in and the vehicle was exploded at the site. This was a joint operation by the army, police and paramilitary forces.

Speaking to the media, Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said “The security forces opened fire. The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the car laden with IED. We got intelligence about a possible attack. We were looking for a vehicle with IED since yesterday”.

“The car was kept under watch for the night”, said Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police. “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”.

Forty jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) died in a suicide IED attack on their convoy in February in the same areas in 2019. This led India to bomb a camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed deep inside Pakistan. An air battle also followed.

Over the last two months, there has been a rise in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Thirty security forces personnel have lost their lives and 38 terrorists have also been shot dead by security forces.

Among them was Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir’s most wanted terrorists and the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen.

The rise in terror attacks poses a major security challenge even as the country fights the coronavirus crisis.

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