JeM attack on CRPF convoy leaves 44 troopers dead
Srinagar: At least 44 CRPF personnel were killed in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday when a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the bus they were travelling in, one of the worst militant strikes in the state in recent years, officials said.
More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora.
Police said the militant driving the suicide vehicle was Adil Ahmad from Kakapora in Pulwama who joined the JeM in 2018. The casualties are likely to go up.
The militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 30 km from Srinagar, they said.
Over 20 people were injured in the attack, which reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron. Several other buses were damaged in the attack.
Body parts could be seen strewn around the area, witnesses said.
An official of the CRPF meanwhile told a local news gathering agency that a “suicide car bomber” rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus near Lethpora at around 03:15 pm, resulting into an intensive blast in which 42 paramilitary personnel were killed and two others injured. The injured personnel are admitted in army’s 92 base hospital in Badamibagh, Srinagar.
“A total of 44 CRPF men belonging to different battalions were travelling in the vehicle when the blast occurred,” the CRPF official said. He said that the CRPF men belonged to 92, 17 and 54 battalions.
Following the blast, the traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu highway came to standstill and when the report last came in the road was still closed. Soon after the blast, government forces launched searches in the entire area.
A police officer said forensic experts of have taken samples even as investigations have been set into motion. The officer also confirmed that today’s attack was the deadliest in the attack.
Unconfirmed reports said that a special team of forensic experts from the NIA is also leaving for Srinagar tomorrow. The team after reaching here from New Delhi will assist the JK police in carrying out investigations into the gruesome attack.
“Even though there were major attacks in the past also like Badamibagh and assembly but this is the first attack in which there have been such a number of causalities,” the officer said.
Regarding the vehicle, the officer said that it seems to be a Scorpio or a Jeep. “Investigations are underway in this regard,” the officer said.
IGP Kashmir SP Pani said that it was a gruesome attack. “The investigations have been taken up. We have started gathering the sequences how this happened and the people behind it will be brought before the law,” the IGP said, adding, “We are ascertaining chain of circumstances in this incident.”
“It was a large convoy and about 2,500 personnel were travelling in multiple vehicles. Some shots were also fired at the convoy,” CRPF DG R RBhatnagar told PTI.
The convoy started from Jammu around 3.30 am and was supposed to reach Srinagar before sunset, officials said.
The number of personnel travelling back to the Valley was high as there was no movement on the highway for the last two to three days because of bad weather and other administrative reasons, they said.
Usually, about 1,000 personnel are part of a convoy but this time it was a total of 2,547 personnel.
A road opening party was deployed and the convoy had armoured counter-terror vehicles, officials said.
Forensic and bomb analysis teams are on the spot, said the officials.
The bus that was the focus of the attack belongs to the 76th battalion of the force and had 39 personnel on board, officials said.
CRPF Inspector General (Operations) in the Kashmir Valley ZulfiqarHasan described it as a “vehicle-bound attack” and said Jammu and Kashmir Police has taken up the investigation.
Meanwhile, a police spokesman in Srinagar confirmed 33 deaths but said that several injured jawans are being treated in various hospitals.
Timeline: Major militant attacks since 1999
26 August 2017 — Three Jaish militants storm District Police Lines Pulwama, killing eight security force personnel, before the assailants were shot dead.
29 November 2016 — Three militants storm Army artillery camp at Nagrota in Jammu, killing seven soldiers, before the assailants were eliminated.
18 September 2016 — Four Pakistani militants storm an Army camp at Uri in Baramulla district, killing 18 soldiers, most of them were in sleep. The assailants were also killed. The incident led to reprisal surgical strikes inside the Pakistan administered Kashmir by Indian Army.
25 June 2016 — Militants open indiscriminate firing on a CRPF bus, killing eight jawans at Pampore on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
3 June 2016 — Militants target a CRPF bus at Pampore, killing two personnel before taking refuge in a government building. Two-day encounter ends with killing of three soldiers including two officers and the two assailants. One civilian was also killed.
5 December 2014 — Six heavily-armed militants storm an Army camp at Mohra in Uri. Ten soldiers were killed in the gun battle with the intruders, who were all shot dead.
24 June 2013 — Militants ambush a bus carrying unarmed Army personnel at Hyderpora in Srinagar. Eight soldiers were killed in the attack.
19 July 2008 — Ten soldiers were killed when terrorists triggered an IED planted by the roadside at Narbal on Srinagar-Baramulla highway on the outskirts of the city.
2 November 2005 — A suicide bomber blew up his car at Nowgam, near the private residence of then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, killing three cops and six civilians.
20 July 2005 — A suicide car bomber blew his vehicle by ramming it into a vehicle of security forces. Three security force personnel and two civilians were killed.
24 June 2005 — Nine army soldiers were killed in a car bomb triggered by militants on the outskirts of Srinagar.
4 August 2004 — Nine CRPF jawans were killed in a militant attack on their camp at Rajbagh in Srinagar. One terrorist was also killed in retaliatory action.
8 April 2004 — 11 persons were killed in a grenade attack by militants on a PDP rally at Uri in Baramulla district. The PDP was demanding opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road.
22 July 2003 — Eight soldiers, including a Brigadier, were killed in a militant attack on their camp at Akhnoor. Several other senior Army officers sustained injuries in the attack.
28 June 2003 — 12 soldiers, including an officer, were killed in a suicide attack by militants on Sunjwan Army camp. Two militants were neutralised.
14 May 2002 — In one of the biggest strikes on an Army installation, 36 persons were killed by three militants who stormed the Kaluchak Army Cantonment in Jammu. The assailants were also killed.
17 November 2001 — Militants storm a security forces base in Ramban (then part of Doda district), killing 10 security forces. Four terrorists were also killed.
1 October 2001 — Terrorists trigger a car bomb outside the old Legislative Assembly Complex in Srinagar. 38 persons were killed while three assailants were also eliminated.
10 August 2000 — Militants hurl a grenade at Residency Road in Srinagar. As the security officials assembled at the spot, they triggered a car bomb, killing 11 persons and a photojournalist.
19 April 2000 — The “human bomb” was used for the first time in Kashmir insurgency. Two soldiers were killed in the suicide car bomb at the Army headquarters at Badamibagh area in Srinagar.
3 November 1999 — Militants storm the Badamibagh Army headquarters, killing 10 soldiers including Defence Public Relations Officer Major Purshottam. (with inputs from PTI and GNS)
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