Death toll rises in Kashmir terror attack on CRPF troopers The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir occurred even as an intelligence input had warned of its the possibility 48 hours earlier. news Terror Attack The toll from Thursday's terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 45 as two more troopers succumbed to their injuries, officials said on Friday. Besides, 38 others were wounded in the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. The attack took place around 3.15 pm on Thursday when a 'Fidayeen' bomber belonging to the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terror outfit rammed an explosive-laden SUV into a bus carrying CRPF troopers in Lethpora area of Pulwama district on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway, officials said. "None among the 44 CRPF men travelling in the bus that took the full impact of the suicide bombing survived," a CRPF official said. "An injured person in another bus has also succumbed taking the death toll to 45," he added. The official said the 38 injured CRPF men are being treated in the Army base hospital in Badamibagh cantonment area of Srinagar. The CRPF convoy of 78 vehicles was coming from Jammu to Srinagar. The convoy carried 2,547 CRPF personnel. The attack happened even as an intelligence input had warned of its the possibility 48 hours earlier. The intelligence input had said, "Chatter inputs reveal that JeM outfit has hinted to carry out IED attacks along the routes of security forces across Jammu and Kashmir. A video uploaded by the outfit has also been shared with all concerned. It is as such suggested that security forces need to be put on alert to thwart any such attempt by terrorists." Informed sources said the intelligence input was shared with all security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The video that was uploaded along with the threat message showed a truck carrying troops in Somalia blown up in a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) blast. In the message, the JeM had warned of a similar type of blast. A video released by the JeM after the attack identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmad Dar alias Waqas Commando, belonging to Kakapora town of Pulwama district. Police sources said the bomber rammed his explosive-laden SUV into the CRPF bus and is believed to have been killed in the explosion. There is, however, no official confirmation of the bomber's death. Senior police and CRPF officials reached the spot immediately for post blast analysis. The explosion was so massive that its sound was heard 10 kms away. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval about the incident on Thursday. Modi will chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at 9.15 am in Delhi on Friday. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by Union Home Secretary and other senior officers of the ministry, is likely to arrive on Friday. A 12-member team of national Investigation agency (NIA) and another team of t he national security guards (NSG) are also expected to arrive here to assist the police in the investigation of the terror strike.<doc-sep>A CRPF convoy came under Jaish attack on Thursday afternoon that killed 44 jawans. The Jammu to Srinagar highway had been blocked for nearly a week and the queue of CRPF personnel waiting to travel from Jammu to Srinagar had been getting longer. “The jawans were returning from leave,” said Ashish Kumar Jha, CRPF spokesperson in Jammu. When the convoy started out from Channi Rama transit camp in Jammu long before sunrise Thursday morning, there were nearly 78 vehicles carrying about 2,500 jawans. Ashish Kumar Jha said the convoy had left the Jammu camp at around 3.30 Thursday morning. The destination was over 320 km away, the Bakshi Stadium transit camp in Srinagar. Watch | Pulwama terror attack: Govt vows swift response The attack took place nearly 30 km short of its destination. A car, driven by Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Adil Ahmad Dar, rammed one of the 78 buses. Security agencies estimate the sports utility vehicle was packed with anything between 250 to 300 kg explosives. Security agencies in Delhi and Jammu confirmed 44 deaths in the attack by late Thursday evening, nearly 20 more are injured. The security establishment will probe the attack to see if it made mistakes. There were suggestions that the length of the convoy appeared to be one. Also read | 44 CRPF jawans killed in worst terror attack in Kashmir, India slams Pakistan “A thorough probe will be conducted but such a large convoy is visible from a distance itself… Points of halt and resuming journey of such convoys are always fixed,” Jha said. Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik promised that there would be a “specific and strong response” to the attack. But he did make the point that the huge convoy left it vulnerable. “They (CRPF jawans) should not have travelled with a huge convoy of 2500 jawans. Had the the convoy moved at a higher speed, such an attack would not have been possible on this highway. But somewhere security lapse was there. I will say at several places. Otherwise, it would not have been possible,” he told India Today news channel. Besides, Malik said proper checking along the highway would have made it difficult to bring the car bomb near the convoy. “Definitely there was a lapse and security forces now to have sit together and take corrective measures to plug the loopholes,” he said. Also read | Pulwama suicide bomber, 22, lived 10km from spot<doc-sep>Pulwama attack live updates: We will not forget, we will not forgive, says CRPF Pulwama attack live updates: We will not forget, we will not forgive, says CRPF 38 CRPF personnel were martyred in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. India held Pakistan directly responsible for the worst-ever terrorist attack in J&K. The government has said that terrorists will pay heavy price for attack. Stay with TOI for all the latest developmentsRead Less<doc-sep>New Delhi: The US on Thursday condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district and said it stands alongside India in defeating terrorism. In one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's three decades of militancy, a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus in Pulwama district, killing at least 39 personnel and leaving many critically wounded. "The US Mission in India strongly condemns today's terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims," US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster tweeted. The US stands alongside India in confronting terror and defeating it, he said. More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar.<doc-sep>
Pulwama Terror Attack: The car was carrying 60 kg of explosives (File) The Central Reserve Police Force came out with a strong reaction against the Pulwama attack on Friday, one day after horrific terror act claimed the lives of over 40 of its personnel and left many critically injured. In a tweet, the paramilitary police organisation said they "will not forget or forgive" the attack and saluted the victims of the horrific act perpetrated by Pak-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Saying they will stand with the families of their "killed brothers", they also said the "heinous attack will be avenged". The CRPF also shared a graphic dedicated to the killed soldiers. WE WILL NOT FORGET, WE WILL NOT FORGIVE:We salute our martyrs of Pulwama attack and stand with the families of our martyr brothers. This heinous attack will be avenged. pic.twitter.com/jRqKCcW7u8 - ????????CRPF???????? (@crpfindia) February 15, 2019 This is the first reaction from the CRPF that in a terrible blow lost many soldiers on Thursday after an explosives-laden car exploded next to a convoy of 70 vehicles. The car was carrying 60 kg of explosives. The suicide terrorist, 22-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar, lived just 10 km from the attack site at Awantipora. He was a school dropout who had joined the Jaish-e-Mohammad last year. The government has strongly condemned the attack and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the ones responsible will have to pay a "very heavy price" and they had made a "big mistake". Shock, grief and outrage spread across the nation and the globe with countries from US to Russia condemning the attack. Pakistan has been blamed for the attack by India as well as the US, where the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed is based. Pakistan has denied any wrongdoing. Jammu and Kashmir has been struck tragically with terrorism, tragedy and turmoil for decades now. This atrocious act is what can be called the worst attack on the security personnel in the state.