In a major success for the Indian security forces, an attack involving a vehicle-borne IED blast was averted by the timely input and action of Pulwama Police, the CRPF and the Army, the Jammu and Kashmir Police informed on Thursday.
The Pulwama Police got tipped off Wednesday night that a terrorist was moving with an explosive-laden car. They took out various parties of police and security forces (SFs) and covered all possible routes keeping themselves and security forces away from road at a safer location.
The suspected vehicle came and a few rounds of bullets were fired towards it, following which the driver abandoned the vehicle and escaped into darkness.
On inspection, it was found that the vehicle was carrying heavy explosives in a drum on the rear seat.
After evacuating people in nearby houses, the vehicle was exploded in-situ by bomb disposal squads as moving the vehicle would have involved serious threat to life, the police said.
The vehicle was reportedly using a number plate of a scooter registered somewhere in Kathua district.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team is at the spot.
On February 14, last year, India saw one of its worst terror attacks in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Some vehicles in a convoy of 78 buses carrying around 2,500 security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway were rammed by an explosive-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad at Lethpora in Pulwama district, resulting in the death of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and the attacker.
The suicide attack took place on a heavily guarded highway.
The terrorists had then succeeded in executing the attack despite the fact that the highway, particularly in South Kashmir, is properly sanitised every time there is a movement of the convoys of security forces. The Road Opening Parties (ROPs) also conduct thorough checking of the road for possible IEDs.
The bus was completely destroyed and mutilated bodies of the jawans lay scattered on the road. At least 13 jawans were killed on the spot and others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
This was the worst terror attack on security personnel since the Uri incident in September 2016. Eighteen soldiers were killed and several others injured when heavily-armed militants stormed a battalion headquarters of the Indian Army in North Kashmir’s Uri town.
Meanwhile, the lastest attempt to create unrest in the valley comes as intelligence agencies have informed that Hizbul Mujahideen is regrouping and plans to strike back within 10 days carrying out multiple terror strikes across the valley.
The security forces have recently incurred massive damages to terror outfits by eliminating its top commanders regularly.
The intelligence agencies have said that the Hizbul Mujahideen is planning to carry out large-scale terror attack where they would target security forces. Its main targets will not just be the security forces deployed in the valley at various places, but it also plans to carry out arms robberies, they said.
Hizbul commander and one of Kashmir’s most wanted terrorist Riyaz Naikoo was neutralised on May 6 after being trapped in the Beighpora area of Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district in an encounter that continued for over 12 hours.
The killing of Naikoo has been seen as a huge shock for the terror outfit as Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin had said that Indian security forces’ position in the Kashmir valley is strong, according to a video of him which surfaced recently.