Explosives laden car was meant to target forces: IG Kashmir

A group of Hizbul and Jaish terrorists planted a 40 to 45 kg IED on their car to target security forces, IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said in a press conference in Srinagar on Thursday.

He said the attacker jumped two check points before abandoning his vehicle and fleeing from the spot.

"We had put up a naka point after we got the information about the car. Our forces fired some warning shots, the driver however didn't stop, on the next naka party, the car was again intercepted, some warning shots were fired, the attacker however taking the cover of the darkness, fled," he said.

He said the cordon was tightened and in the morning the Bomb Disposal Squad reached the spot and found that it is an explosive laden vehicle.

"Police, CRPF and Army teams reached the spot and the IED was diffused in a very technical manner and thus a major tragedy was averted," he said.

He said the police had an input that Jaish militants were trying to carry out such an attack on the day of 'Jang-e-Badar', but preventive measures and offensive actions by the security forces at that time stopped terrorists from carrying out such an attack.

"Since yesterday morning the leads had started developing about the terror plot. We suspect that Adil, a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen linked to Jaish in association with two other terrorists, is involved in the conspiracy to carry out this attack."

He said according to preliminary information, the explosive materials comprised of nitric salt, ammonium nitrate and nitro glycerine.

"It was initially thought that the explosives would be 25 Kg, but the debris of the car has went up 50 metres in the air suggesting that 40 to 45 kg explosives have been used," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to IANS, J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said Pakistani terrorist Waleed is likely to be behind making the IED and planting it on the Santro Car.

"He is on the run and probably hiding in Kulgam," Dilbag Singh said.

Earlier, a major terror plot was averted in Jammu and Kashmir after the security forces recovered a car laden with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. The explosive laden car was said to be placed at a strategic location to target security forces convoy or a defence installation.

The explosives were 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 diffusing the explosive, exploded the vehicle.
Investigations so far have revealed that the white colour Santro car had a number plate of a two-wheeler, which was registered in the name of a resident of Jammu's Kathua.

In February 2019, 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a similar IED-laden car driven by a Adil Ahmed Dar, a Jaish terrorist. Later in April last year, a similar failed attempt of exploding IED happened in Banihal in which Hizbul terror module was said to be involved. Both cases of terror conspiracy are being investigated by the NIA.