Army, J&K Police on a high alert after foiling car-bombing attempt in Pulwama

Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir are on a high alert after foiling a car bombing attempt 'quite similar to that of the 2019 Pulwama attack' by intercepting an explosives-laden car in the same district Thursday.

The location of the car, fitted with 40-45 kgs of explosives, was close enough to target a security forces' convoy or a defence installation.

Further investigations by the Jammu and Kashmir Police revealed that the Santro car belongs to a Hizbul Mujahedeen militant from south Kashmir’s Shopian district.

The explosive was kept in a blue drum inside the car. A bomb disposal squad reached the spot on Thursday morning. People were asked to move away from the vicinity. The bomb disposal squad then instead of defusing the explosive, exploded the vehicle.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted: "A major incident of a vehicle-borne IED blast is averted by the timely input and action by Pulwama Police, CRPF and the Army."

As per reports, late on Wednesday night, a car was intercepted by the security forces from Rajpora in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. The police had a specific input about a car, which was tracked to Shaadipura, (Rajpura road) in Pulwama.

However, the driver, who is said to be a Hizbul Mujahideen militant, managed to escape unde the cover of darkness after initial firefight.

The investigation so far has revealed that the white colour car had a registration of a two-wheeler, which was registered in the name of a resident from Jammu's Kathua district.

In February 2019, 40 CRPF soldiers were killed when an IED-laden car driven by Adil Ahmed Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist, exploded. Later in April last year, a similar failed attempt was made in Banihal in which Hizbul terror module was said to be involved. Both cases of terror conspiracy are being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)..