Major killed

from across the Line of Control, sources added.

They said this was a common modus operandi adopted by Pakistan-based terrorists to target Indian security forces deployed along the border.

Lt Col Anand said Saturday’s explosion that killed the Majorrank officer took place around 3 pm.

On Thursday, a s ui c i de bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into a CRPF truck, part of a convoy of 78 vehicles, in the Avantipora area of Pulwama district, making it the deadliest attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s three-decade-long insurgency.

Opposition parties, cutting across political lines, and overseas governments condemned the terrorist attack for which JEM, a United Nations-designated terrorist group founded by Masood Azhar, claimed responsibility. Jaish said the suicide bomber was a 22-year-old school dropout from Gundibagh village of Pulwama in south Kashmir, a hotbed of insurgency.

On Friday, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan high commissioner Sohail Mahmood to the external affairs ministry and handed him a demarche (diplomatic note) protesting against Thursday’s suicide bombing and demanding that Islamabad take “immediate and verifiable action” against JEM.