Security forces including intelligence, army, police averted a major Pulwama-like terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Ayengund area of Rajpora, Pulwama after forces neutralised an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) recovered from a car. According to sources, the terrorists were planning to target a convoy of 20-25 vehicles that was to carry close to 400 soldiers, commanders and army officers.
The attack was averted after Jammu and Kashmir Police and bomb squad of the Army detected a Santro car fitted with explosives and destroyed it. The vehicle was carrying 40-50 kg IED since debris of the car went up to 50 meters in the air after the explosive was neutralised in a technically controlled manner.
Reports say the 40-50 kg IED was composed of Ammonium Nitrate and Nitro Glycerine using which the terrorists wanted to target Indian soldiers.
The attack was averted after security forces foiled a bid to set up a car-borne IED, containing about 45-50 kgs of explosives, in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Inspector-General of Police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were working together to target the security forces in a similar manner as the February last year suicide attack which left more than 40 CRPF personnel dead.
"The police were receiving inputs since a week that HM and JeM terrorists were planning to launch a big suicidal strike against security forces using car bomb. When the input matured on Wednesday, we developed it and nakas were placed in Pulwama by the security forces,” Kumar told reporters.
He said in the evening, when the suspected car, about which the police already had inputs, reached a naka (police check post), the security forces fired some warning shots and the terrorists turned the car away and fled.
"At another naka, the forces again fired some warning shots and the terrorists fled from the spot, taking advantage of darkness, and left the car behind. The forces used lights to check the vehicle from a distance after finding something suspicious. We tightened the cordon and waited for the first light of the day.
"This morning, a bomb disposal squad reached the spot and saw the vehicle was laden with explosives. The IED was diffused in a technical way by the police, Army and paramilitary CRPF. The Pulwama police, with the help of security forces, have averted a major tragedy and I congratulate all of the forces," he said.
The IGP said the police had inputs that JeM was planning to launch such an attack on the anniversary of Jang-e-Badr day – the 17th day of Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan -- but could not undertake it then because the forces had taken pre-emptive measures.
"However, the input got developed on Wednesday and we suspect Adil, who is a HM terrorist but also works with JeM, and Fauji bhai, a Pakistani terrorist and JeM commander in Pulwama are involved in the planning of the attack,” he said.
Kumar said the terrorists were planning to target the security forces vehicles using about 40-45 kgs of explosives in the same manner as the February 14, 2019 Awantipora attack.
"We are calling an expert team from the outside to investigate it. Since the explosive debris went up about 50 metres in the air, it seems that the weight of the explosives would have been about 40-45 kgs,
(With inputs from PTI)
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