44 Jawans killed, scores injured in Lethpora fidayeen attack
At least 44 paramilitary CRPF personnel were killed and several injured when
At around 3: 15 pm, the blast ripped through a CRPF bus which was part of a convoy coming from Jammu towards Srinagar.
A local militant identified as Adil Ahmad of Kakapora rammed explosive-laden vehicle into a bus belonging to CRPF’s 54
Adil had joined militancy in March 2018.
Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claimed responsibility of the fidayeen attack and also released video of the militant, who carried out the suicide bombing.
The 44-seater bus was reduced to a mangled iron heap due to
It was part of convoy comprising around 70 vehicles.
The blast was felt
Body parts could be seen strewn around the area.
“At least 44 CRPF men were killed in the attack,” agencies reported.
Police spokesman, however, confirmed 33 fatal casualties.
He said the exact number of casualties was being ascertained.
“The injured were shifted to different hospitals including army hospital in Srinagar for
CRPF’s Srinagar-based spokesperson Sanjay Sharma told Rising Kashmir that they were ascertaining the exact damage caused in the blast.
“It was a car-based very powerful blast which damaged the bus,” he said.
“We are still finding out the exact casualties. We are not able to
Eyewitnesses said the blast caused damage to two other CRPF vehicles.
After
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Swayam Prakash Pani termed the attack as “gruesome” and an act of “desperation” on part of militants.
“We are investigating it. The causalities are high. It is an act of desperation which is reflected. Only one vehicle was hit. Whether the explosive was planted there or was it in a car, all these things are to be seen in the investigation,” he said.
Whether the car rammed into the bus, he said “it can’t be substantiated as of now and it is a part of
“Those who are behind this incident will be brought before the law,” he added.
The attack is the first of
A road opening party was deployed and the convoy had
Forensic and bomb analysis teams are on the spot.
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 Zulfiqar Hasan described it as a “vehicle-bound attack” and said Jammu and Kashmir Police has taken up the investigation.