Explosive-laden vehicle kills 40 soldiers in Kashmir

At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed and more than 20 others injured in a blast in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, news agency ANI reports. The blast was triggered by militants to target two vehicles carrying the CRPF jawans.  

“Death toll in the Pulwama attack is around 40,” K Vijay Kumar, advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor, told ANI. The blast ripped through one of the buses the jawans were travelling in. The death toll is likely to go up.  

A Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus they were travelling in, PTI report said. The bus which came under the main impact of the blast belonged to 76 battalion of the CRPF.  The IED blast reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron and body parts could be seen strewn around the area, the agency reported.  

“There were 70 vehicles in the convoy and one of the vehicles came under attack. The convoy was on its way from Jammu to Srinagar,” said CRPF (Operations) Inspector General Zulfiqar Hassan adding that the Jammu and Kashmir police have taken over the investigation into the terror attack.  

“There were about 2500 personnel in the convoy,” news agency ANI quoted CRPF Director General RR Bhatnagar as saying on Pulwama attack. 
India, (Hindustan Times), 
Feb 14, 2019