Pulwama: The police said the car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a check point this morning, but it tried to accelerate and flee
Srinagar: The security forces prevented a big car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district after they stopped a vehicle carrying over 20 kg of improvised explosive device (IED), enough to carry out a major attack.
The police said the car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a check point this morning, but it tried to accelerate and go through the barricade.
“The security forces opened fire. The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the car laden with IED,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said. “We got intelligence about a possible attack. We were looking for a vehicle with IED since yesterday,” he added.
The IED along with the car was destroyed by a bomb disposal squad, but some nearby houses were damaged despite the controlled explosion, sources said.
Mr Kumar said it was a joint operation by the army, police and paramilitary forces.
Forty jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) died in a suicide IED attack on their convoy in February in the same district last year, leading India to bomb a camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed deep inside Pakistan. An air battle also followed.
In the last two months there has been a spurt in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir; 30 security forces personnel including officers have lost their lives. During this period, 38 terrorists have also been shot dead by security forces.
Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir’s most wanted terrorists and the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed during an encounter in Pulwama earlier this month.
The spurt in terror attacks amid reports of infiltration by highly-trained terrorists from Pakistan poses a major security challenge even as the country fights the coronavirus crisis.
