Lethpora attack: Death toll reaches 49
Srinagar: Four more seriously wounded paramilitary men succumbed to their injuries here at army’s 92 base hospitalBadamibagh Srinagar, taking the death toll of paramilitary troopers to 49 so far in the car-bomb attack at Lethpora area in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district along Srinagar-Jammu on Thursday.
The attack took place along highway when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy in Lethpora area at around 3:15 p.m on Thursday.
An official of the CRPF confirmed that four more critically wounded soldiers succumbed to injuries in the army hospital on Friday morning. He said that the death toll of CRPF men has mounted to 49.
“While a total of 44 CRPF men belonging to different battalions were travelling in one vehicle, 39 others were travelling in another one,” the CRPF official said. He said that the CRPF men belonged to 92, 17, 54, 82, 61, 21, 98, 118, 76, 45, 3 and 176 battalions. He said while none from the bus carrying 44 CRPF men survived, five of the injured among those travelling in another bus succumbed to injuries, one of them yesterday.
The other injured are being treated in different hospitals. Sources said that the intensity of the blast was such that its sound was heard around 10 kilometers away.
Sources said bodies of 46 CRPF men are being sent to their native villages while those of three personnel were still missing. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at Humhama here and Home Minister Rajnath Singh also attended it.
JeM militant outfit had claimed the responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Adil Ahmad Dar alias Waqas Commando and he is also believed to be killed even though there was no official confirmation in this regard so far.
IGP Kashmir SP Pani said that it was a gruesome terror 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.” (GNS)
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