A vehicle carrying 40-45 kg of an improvised explosive device (IED) was stopped by the security forces, preventing a massive car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on Wednesday night. According to sources, terrorists were planning to target a convoy of 20-25 vehicles scheduled to carry about 400 soldiers, army officers, and commanders. The plan acts as a chilling reminder of the last year’s Pulwama terror attack. An attack in which over 40 soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into the CRPF convoy.
A white Hyundai Santro car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a checkpoint based on intelligence input. Based on this intelligence input, Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army and the CRPF created a joint team that immediately swung into action. The car was intercepted in the region of Rajpora in Pulwama. However, the driver had tried to accelerate and go through the barricade. The car was spotted, and a few rounds were fired, but the owners of the vehicle abandoned it and escaped after the initial gunfight.
DG, JKP, Dilbag Singh said, “We had an intercept of a terrorist. When the car was intercepted after an initial exchange of fire, the terrorist escaped under cover of darkness.”
The nearby villages were evacuated while the vehicle was kept under watch for the night. On Thursday morning, the bomb disposal squad was called in by the security forces, and the vehicle was exploded. According to the sources, their explosion went up to about 50 meters in height.
Personnel from the CRPF, Special Operation Group, and the Army’s 44 RR then launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) where they recovered a huge quantity of explosives. A blue drum was used to keep the explosives in the car. Furthermore, the car is said to be registered in the name of a two-wheeler owner in Kathua.
Vijay Kumar, Inspector-General of Police Kashmir, stated that the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) are working together to target the security forces in a similar fashion that happened in February last year.
Vijay Kumar further told the reporters that the police had been receiving inputs for a week that Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were planning to launch a big suicidal strike against security forces using a car bomb. When the input matured on Wednesday, they developed it, and nakas were placed in Pulwama by the security forces.
Such attacks are not the first of the attempts by that terrorist organization. The IGP said the police had inputs that JeM has been planning to launch such an attack on the anniversary of Jang-e-Badr day – the 17th day of Ramadhan’s Muslim fasting month. Fortunately, they could not undertake it because the forces had taken pre-emptive measures.
Adil is a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who also works with Jaish-e-Mohammad. He also works with Fauji Bhai, a Pakistani terrorist, and JeM commander in Pulwama is suspected to be involved in the planning of the attack.
Image Source : The Statesman
