For security agencies the powerful Improvised Explosive device (IED) that went off in Shopian district on Monday appears a worrying sign. The militants, police officials say, had long eschewed laying IEDs but recent incidents suggest they might revive the tactic to increase their capacities.
The blast, second in recent past, injured only three soldiers, but appears a throwback to 1990s when the militants would carry out deadly IED attacks. “The attack, therefore, signifies the striking capability of militants,” a top police official told Greater Kashmir..
“Militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast during wee hours when an army vehicle was passing through the area on Turkwangan road near Zainpora injuring three soldiers,” a police spokesman said.
The spokesman said the militants had planted the IED near the water tank and detonated it with a remote device early Monday morning when an army vehicle passed through the area.
“Army’s armored vehicle (CASPER) suffered substantial damages due to the blast,” a police official said adding that the causalities were minimized only due to the tremendous blast-bearing capacity of the vehicle.
The impact of the blast was huge as it went off with a deafening sound, creating panic among the locals.
“The bomb Disposal Squad deployed at the site of the blast later recovered a second IED from the site and defused it. The sanitization of area was done to clear the track for vehicular movement,” the police official said.
This was only the second IED blast carried out by militants in southern Kashmir in recent past.
The last IED blast, claimed by HizbulMujahideen, in southern Kashmir took place in 2016 in Dadsara village of Tral. The attack had left three cops dead and a police officer injured.
“To our knowledge, it was the only IED attack that took place after the militants shifted their base to southern Kashmir, post 2010,” revealed the officer who wished not to be named.
However, in northern Kashmir a deadly IED blast was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammad militant outfit in January this year in Sopore. It had killed four policemen.
A senior police officer said that in recent memory, the major IED blast in Kashmir took place in 2008 in Srinagar near Narbal on the Srinagar-Baramulla road, in which nine army personnel were killed. HizbulMujahideen had claimed the attack.
“This was the time when militancy was at its lowest ebb and it was more of a survival for militants rather than planning and executing major attacks,” he added.
According to Police records the HizbulMujahideen had some outstanding local expertise in manufacturing IEDs and the outfit carried some of the deadly IED blasts between 1990 and 2004.
“After the India-Pakistan initiated dialogue during Mushraf-Vajpayee era and the ceasefire agreement along the LoC was signed between the two countries, the frequency of IED gradually reduced and finally stopped ,” a police official said.
Around that period Hizb lost some of its top commanders in various encounters. Prominent among them was Shabir Ahmad of Badroo-AchabalAnantnag, considered to be an expert in IED making.
In 2004, the Hizb militants killed a National Conference activist Safdar Ali Beg in his native Sarnal locality of Anantnagtown . On the fourth day of his death the party patron and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and Ali MuhamadSagar and other NC leaders had a narrow escape after an IED, fitted near the graveyard where Beg was buried, went off barely few minutes before they reached there. The police had then termed ShabirBadroo as the brain behind the attack.
According to the informed Police sources, during hey days of militancy in 1990s the militants would rely mostly on RDX for making an IED but now different materials are used.
Police believes the IEDs are mostly triggered by mobile phones using a number connected to the IED detonator. “They do not need a normal remote control now to detonate the IED.”
“Barring few hardly anyone with having expertise in IED-making has joinedHizb or even Lashkar-I-Toiba since 2008,” a police official revelaed. Of late, slain Let commander Abu Qasim was instrumental in modifying the IEDs, the police claims.
“The militancy, however, has taken different shape since 2017 as more Jaish-e-Mohammad militants have infiltrated in Kashmir. It is quite possible that these IEDs are being prepared by their cadre because the outfit claimed responsibility of Sopore IED in January this year,” the officer argued.
The officer refused to comment about the outfit involved in Shopian IED attack, saying that “so far no militant outfit has claimed responsibility so commenting further would be too early.”
Although Police terms the Shopian blast as an “isolated attack”, police have recently claimed to have busted many modules in Srinagar, Awantipora and Tral and it was claimed that the modules were planning IED attacks.
“This is a proof that the militants want to derail the ceasefire initiative and peace process and escalate the tension,” police official said.
Another police official, who is part of investigations into such blasts, said that procuring material t makes IEDs was not a big deal but he insisted that the technical knowhow to make such lethal bombs was really important.
“In past only the local recruits had expertise in IEDs, so it won’t be a surprise if Hizb boys are again trained to do so,” he said.
SUGAN VILLAGERS ALLEGE HARASSMENT
Residents in Sugan, native village of the most wanted Hizb commander Zeenat-ul-Islam alleged that the government forces went berserk in soon after the blast, “beating people and damaging properties.” The villagers alleged that Zeenat-ul-Islam’s house was also targeted .
“The army without any provocation smashed windowpanes broke doors and windows of dozens of our houses,” a local wishing anonymity told Greater Kashmir.
He alleged that the forces even ransacked all the household goods including the refrigerator, washing machine and other kitchenware.
“They beat up everyone not sparing even women and children,” said the resident who did not want to be named
Shopian’s district police chiefShalinder Mishra said he did not know about the accesses as “no one came up with the complaint.”