February 2019 like car bomb attack averted in Pulwama, 20 Kg IED in car, driver escapes

Srinagar: Government forces prevented a massive car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama Thursday morning after they stopped a vehicle carrying over 20 kg of improvised explosive device (IED). The plan had chilling similarities with last year’s attack in Pulwama, when over 40 soldiers were killed as a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a CRPF convoy.
Based on intelligence inputs, a white Hyundai Santro car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a check point on Wednesday night, but it tried to accelerate and go through the barricade, the police said.
“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 inputs about a possible attack. We were looking for a vehicle with IED since yesterday,” he added.The car, along with the IED, was later destroyed by a bomb disposal squad. The massive explosion damaged several houses in the area.
“It (car) was kept under watch for the night. People in nearby houses were evacuated and the vehicle was destroyed on site by the bomb disposal squad as moving it would have been a serious threat,” Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said. Kumar said it was a joint operation by the army, police and paramilitary forces. In the last two months there has been a spurt in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir; 30 government forces personnel including officers have lost their lives. During this period, 38 militants have also been shot dead by government forces.
Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir’s most wanted militants and the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, was killed during an encounter in Pulwama earlier this month.The spurt in militant attacks amid reports of infiltration by highly-trained militants poses a major security challenge even as the country fights the coronavirus crisis.