In one of the deadliest attacks on forces in Kashmir, at least 42 central reserve police force (CRPF) personnel were killed and 38 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy on the force in Lethpora area along the Srinagar-Jammu highway on Thursday, officials said.
The powerful blast took place at around 3.26 pm when a CRPF convoy of more than 70 vehicles was moving through Lethpora, near the saffron town of Pampore, shaking the earth beneath the feet of thousands of commuters and local residents.
The official said the vehicle used by the lone suicide attacker was a four-wheeler Scorpio carrying more than 350 kilograms of explosives.
The militant, he said, targeted two buses which were specifically carrying CRPF personnel.
“The blast ripped through one of the buses in which the CRPF personnel were travelling,” the official said.
The attack left at least 42 personnel of the force dead and 38 others injured, the official said, adding that the death toll is likely to go up.
The blast reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron, while body parts and torn clothes were seen strewn around the area.
The injured CRPF men were evacuated to the army’s 92 base hospital at Badami Bagh cantonment.
This is the second fidayeen attack in Lethpora in the past more than a year.
On 1 January 2018, a Jaish-e-Muhammad group carried out a fidayeen attack at a CRPF training centre in Lethpora, leaving five personnel of the force and three militants dead. The slain militants included Fardeen Khanday from Nazneenpora area of Tral.
A police source said the highway stretch where the Thursday’s attack took place is “largely believed to be prone to militant attacks”.
On 25 June 2016, two militants armed with assault rifles killed eight CRPF personnel and wounded 23 others after ambushing their convoy bus travelling through the main town Pampore.
The shopkeepers at Lethpora described Thursday’s blast as “horrible”.
“A loud bang was heard followed by heavy firing. We downed the shutters of our shops immediately while vehicles along the highway soon vanished. Many vehicles were hit by bullets,” said a witness.
A source said a civilian Javeed Ahmed from Awantipora suffered injuries during the firing and was evacuated to sub-district hospital Pampore, where doctors termed his condition as “stable”.
Soon after the attack, traffic was suspended along the highway while additional forces were rushed to the site of the attack.
Thousands of vehicles remained stranded on the road for hours as forces didn’t allow any vehicle to move ahead, the witness said.
A lot of traffic, however, was diverted through Galander.
At least 13 of the injured personnel are stated to be critical.
It is believed that majority of the CRPF personnel died on the spot while some succumbed to their injuries either on way to hospitals or at the hospitals, an official source said.
The authorities termed the incident as one of the ‘deadliest militant attacks’ in Jammu and Kashmir. It is said to be a deadliest militant strike on security personnel since the Uri attack of September 2016, when four heavily-armed militants targeted an army brigade headquarters, causing the death of at least 19 soldiers.
Confirming the casualties, a spokesperson of CRPF told Greater Kashmir that the convoy was coming from Qazigund to Srinagar when it was attacked at Lethpora.
Meanwhile, the police have taken over the investigation into the attack.
The government authorities also snapped internet services across south Kashmir on Thursday evening, and reduced the speed to 2G in Srinagar, following the Lethpora attack.
RAJOURI TROOPER AMONG SLAIN CRPF MEN
One of the slain CRPF troopers, Naseer Ahmed, hails from Dodassan-Bala village of Rajouri district.
46-year-old Ahmed was working as head constable in the force and had completed 22 years of service . He is survived by wife and other family members.
The slain personnel was, reportedly, the commander of the bus which was targeted by the militants.
VIDEO, PICTURE GO VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Soon after the attack, reports started doing rounds that the attack was carried out by a local Jash-e-Muhammad militant, Aadil Ahmad Dar alias Wiqas Commando, after a purported picture of the militant holding weapons in his hands went viral on social media.
A purported video recorded by Aadil before the attack also went viral on social media. In the 10-minute purported video, Aadil talks about how he joined Jaish-e-Muhammad a year ago “with an aim to carry out the fidayeen attacks”.
He also says how Jaish “carried out deadly fidayeen and sniper attacks on forces’ establishments across India, particularly in Kashmir”.
Seated between assault rifles and a huge cache of arms and ammunition including grenades, he urges people to join Jaish-e-Muhammad.
POLICE STATEMENT
A spokesman of police district Awantipora said in a statement that it attended to a “gruesome crime spot” at Ladhu-Mode Lethpora at about 15.15 hours following an explosion by militants targeting a security forces’ convoy travelling from Jammu to Srinagar “One vehicle which was part of the convoy carrying CRPF personnel bore the brunt of the blast resulting in multiple casualties. The exact number of casualties is being ascertained. So far 33 fatal casualties have been confirmed. Injured have been evacuated to hospitals for medical treatment,” the statement read, adding: “The police have registered a case in the matter. Officers investigating this crime are at work to establish the full circumstances which led to the blast”.
“We condemn this gruesome militant attack and stand by the families of martyred and injured personnel at this critical juncture. Citizens are requested to stay away from the blast site as it needs to be preserved properly for investigators to examine. Your cooperation will be much appreciated in this regard,” the statement added.
“If you have any information that can assist police in investigating this crime, you may kindly contact police,” it said.
‘EXPLOSION HEARD 10 KMS AWAY’
The scene of devastation and destruction caused on Thursday by the suicide car bomb sent chills down the spine of unsuspecting locals who witnessed the bloodbath in Pulwama district’s Awantipora area, about 20 km from Srinagar.
The explosive used in the attack was so strong that the blast was heard from 10-12 km away, including some parts of Srinagar adjoining the Pulwama district, locals said.
Some of the bodies were so badly blown up that officials feel it may take some time to identity them.
As soon as the explosion took place, people started running for safety. The shopkeepers at Lethpora market, which is less than 300 metres from the scene of the attack, downed their shutters and fled.
The scene of the incident is not very far from the commando training centre at Lethpora, which was stormed by Jaish-e-Muhammad militants on December 31, 2017, killing five CRPF personnel.
NIA, NSG TO JOIN PROBE
The National Investigation Agency will be assisting the Jammu and Kashmir police in forensic evaluation of the scene of attack at Lethpora in Pulwama.
“An NIA team with suitable forensic component is leaving tomorrow morning for Kashmir to assist the J&K police in forensic evaluation of the scene of crime,” a statement issued by the NIA Thursday evening said.
Experts of the National Security Guard are also being sent to Jammu and Kashmir to join the probe into the attack in Pulwama in which more than 30 CRPF personnel were killed, officials said Thursday.
CCS TO MEET FRIDAY TO DISCUSS SECURITY SITUATION
The Cabinet Committee on Security will meet on Friday morning to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, sources said.
The meeting is likely to take place at 9:15 am on Friday, the sources said.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is headed by the prime minister, defence minister, home minister, external affairs minister and the finance minister. The CCS takes decisions on matters related to security and strategic affairs.
I&B MINISTRY ASKS CHANNELS TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT CONTENT
In the wake of the attack in Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday asked all private TV channels to be cautious about content which could encourage or incite violence or promote anti-national attitudes.
“In light of the recent terrorist attack, TV channels are advised to be particularly cautious with regard to any content which is likely to encourage or incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national attitudes; and/or contains anything affecting the integrity of the nation,” an advisory issued by the ministry said.
It asked the channels to ensure that no such content is telecast which is violative of the Programme and Advertising Code as prescribed in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act.
All private channels are requested to ensure strict compliance, the ministry said.
JAISH CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
Jaish-e-Muhammad has claimed responsibility for the fidayeen attack on CRPF convoy at highway, news agency GNS said, quoting a statement of the militant outfit.
“Dozens of forces’ vehicles were destroyed in the attack,” the statement read, according to GNS.
The statement identified its militant who carried out the fidayeen attack as Aadil Ahmad alias Waqas Commando of Gundi Bagh, Pulwama.
Mobile internet shut in south Kashmir
Mobile internet services were snapped on Thursday in south Kashmir, while the data speed in Srinagar was reduced to that of 2G-level following the attack , officials said. Mobile internet was suspended in south Kashmir as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, the officials said. They said there were apprehensions that social media could be misused to create trouble.
(With inputs from PTI/IANS/GNS)