43 CRPF troopers killed in worst-ever terror attack in Kashmir

In the worstever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989 a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the SrinagarJammu highway in Pulwama district killing at least 43 troopers and leaving the security established stunnedThe Pakistanbased JaisheMohammad JeM claimed responsibility for the horror and released a video clip of the suicide bomber a commander identified as Adil Ahmad Dar which it claimed was shot before the young man carried out the strike in Lethpora about 30 km from hereEven as a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising the Home Defence External Affairs and Finance Ministers was called for on Friday morning the government said it was firmly and resolutely committed to take all necessary measures to safeguard national securityWhile precise details of the attack were still unclear police sources said the suicide bomberdriven SUV came along the Central Reserve Police Force CRPF bus when a 78vehicle convoy carrying 2547 security personnel was going from the transit camp in Jammu to Srinagar and rammed it into the bus around 315 pm triggering a deafening explosionSo devastating was the attack one report spoke of 200 kg of explosives including probably RDX packed into the SUV that the CRPF bus was left a mangled heap many of its occupants losing their limbs CRPF officials said the bus which was the main target of the militants was destroyed fully while another CRPF vehicle was partly damaged It is difficult to believe how anyone in that bus could have survived said a police officerIn a statement to a local news agency GNS a caller claiming to be a spokesman of JeM said it was a fidayeen suicide attack All the injured were shifted to the Armys 92 Base Hospital in the Badamibagh cantonment of Srinagar city Some of them were in critical condition All traffic on the SrinagarJammu Highway came to an abrupt halt Senior police and CRPF officers rushed to the spot for a postexplosion analysisAn officer said the CRPF and police would carry out a detailed investigation to understand the circumstances in which the attack took place Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in condemning the horrorThe attack is despicable I strongly condemn this dastardly attack The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs he tweeted Home Minister Rajnath Singh who was to visit Bihar on Friday is set to reach Srinagar instead Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba cut short his visit to Bhutan to rush to Srinagar for a highlevel security meeting on FridayTodays dastardly attack is extremely painful and disturbing I bow to each and every CRPF jawan who has sacrificed his life in service to the nation Rajnath Singh saidThe government stressing that the heinous and despicable act has been perpetrated by JaisheMohammed a Pakistanbased and supported terrorist organisation proscribed by the United Nations and other countries demanded that Pakistan stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory and dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorist outfits to launch attacks in other countriesNew Delhi also reiterated its appeal to the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists including JeM Chief Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security CouncilThis is the worst single attack in Jammu and Kashmir since a nascent Pakistanbacked separatist campaign began in 1989 It is also the worst attack carried out by militants after the one on the Uri Army camp on September 18 2016 left 19 soldiers dead forcing New Delhi to launch surgical strikes on terrorist camps in PakistanOfficials said the reason why so many CRPF personnel were on the move at one go was because the SrinagarJammu highway had been shut the past two days due to bad weather The convoy left Jammu before dawnCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever