Islamist bombers kill 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir convoy attack

AT LEAST 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers were killed yesterday in Indianadministered Kashmir in the deadliest attack on government forces there since 2002.

The suicide bombing near the city of Srinagar, claimed by an Islamist group, is likely to ratchet up tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, with New Delhi having long accused Islamabad of supporting militants. “The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain,” Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, wrote on Twitter, calling the attack “despicable”.

Indian media reports said that at about 3.15pm local time, a car carrying 660-770lb of explosives struck a convoy of about 70 vehicles that was carrying about 2,500 members of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force to the Kashmir Valley.

“A car overtook the convoy and rammed into a bus with 44 personnel on board,” a senior police official told BBC Urdu’s Riyaz Masroor.

The official said the death toll might increase because dozens were “critically injured”. The attack was on the main highway to Jammu, about 12 miles from Srinagar.

Two buses carrying around 35 people bore the brunt of the massive blast, which was heard miles away, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. It said that at least 39 people were dead, while other press reports said the number could exceed 40.

Some of the victims were blown up and officials feel it may take some time to identity them, the agency reported. The convoy was bringing the troopers back from leave to rejoin active service. Local media reports said the Pakistanbased Jaish-e-mohammed Islamist group claimed responsibility.

After the attack, hundreds of government forces cordoned off about 15 villages in the district the bombers came from and started searching house-to-house.

The last major car bombing, which killed 40 people including three suicide attackers, was also carried out by Jaish-e-mohammed, in 2001. The target then was the local parliament building in Srinagar.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence. Rebels have been fighting for an independent Kashmir, or a merger with Pakistan, for 30 years.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of fuelling the insurgency that has left tens of thousands of civilians dead and which has become increasingly bitter in recent years.