CAR BOMB RIPS THROUGH BUS ON HIGHWAY
THE ATTACK
Officials believe the attack was a car bomb triggered by a suicide bomber. The attacker joined the highway through an approach road and drove alongside the convoy briefly before ramming into one of the buses and triggering what is suspected to be hundreds of kilos of explosives.
THE ATTACKERS
Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-mohammad said its operative carried out the attack and identified him as Adil Ahmad Dar, a resident of South Kashmir. Police believe Dar, 22, joined militancy in 2018. Since then, he had been spotted with members of Jaish, Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-taiba.
THE VICTIMS
The victims were on a bus that was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles, carrying at least 2,500 troopers from Jammu to Srinagar. Most were being shifted for redeployment.
THE AREA
The convoy was hit at Lethpora on the Jammu-srinagar national highway. The vehicles were going uphill on a bend. The stretch at the point was four lanes wide.
THE LAPSES
J&K governor Satya Pal Malik said the troopers should not have been travelling in such a large convoy. There are also questions on whether there were intelligence warnings of the attack and if standard operating procedures were ignored.
THE RESPONSE
The Cabinet Committee on Security – the government’s highest decision-making body on matters of security — will meet on Friday morning. Following the meeting, Union home minister Rajnath Singh will head to Kashmir. A minister in the government described the attack as having created a ‘war-like’ situation.