The group has in the past been a useful tool for Pakistan's intelligence services wanting to foment unrest across the border, and authorities may now be reluctant to confront them, in case they turn against the Pakistani state as some of their members have done in the past.<doc-sep>Reuters photo Key Highlights The explosive used in the attack was so strong that the blast was heard from 10-12 km away, including some parts of Srinagar adjoining the Pulwama district, locals said Some of the bodies were so badly blown up that officials feel it may take some time to identify them SRINAGAR: The scene of devastation and destruction caused on Thursday by the suicide car bomb attack that killed around 40 security personnel sent chills down the spine of unsuspecting locals who witnessed the blood bath in Pulwama district's Awantipora area, about 20 km from here. The explosive used in the attack was so strong that the blast was heard from 10-12 km away, including some parts of Srinagar adjoining the Pulwama district, locals said. Body parts of the terrorist, identified as Adil Ahmad, and the CRPF personnel killed in the attack were strewn on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway, where the incident happened. Some of the bodies were so badly blown up that officials feel it may take some time to identify them. This was the first suicide car bomb strike in Kashmir since the 2001 attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that left 41 persons, including three suicide attackers, dead. 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 the suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a bus carrying 39-44 jawans, officials said. There was nothing at the scene of the incident to suggest which type of vehicle was used to carry out the attack except the mangled heap of iron of the bus that was the target. As soon as the explosion took place, people started running for safety. The shopkeepers at Lethpora market, which is less than 300 metres from the scene of the attack, downed their shutters and fled. The scene of the incident is not very far from the Commando Training Centre at Lethpora, which was stormed by Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists on December 31, 2017, killing five CRPF personnel. The Jammu-Srinagar Highway has been witness to several terror attacks on the security forces. CRPF bore the brunt of an attack at Pampore, less than seven kilometres from Lethpora, in June 2016, losing eight jawans while 22 others sustained injuries. Terrorists had attacked a CRPF convoy in Pampore area in February that year as well, before taking refuge at a government building. The operation against the holed up terrorists lasted more than two days and resulted in the death of nine persons, including three Armymen and three ultras.<doc-sep>A top Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commender, suspected to be the bomb maker and mastermind of Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy, was among two terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in the same district’s Pingilana village on Monday. Police were yet to confirm the identities of the two terrorists, but IANS quoted defence ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia as saying: “One of the two slain JeM terrorists was a top commander and belonged to Pakistan.” Read live updates here According to sources, the slain Jaish commander is believed to be behind the suicide attack in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel travelling in a bus to Srinagar on Thursday. Watch: Army officer, 3 jawans die in Pulwama encounter that killed 2 terrorists A Jaish operative had rammed a car filled with explosives into a convoy of buses carrying CRPF jawans on Jammu-Srinagar highway in Lethpora of Pulwama district. Forces looking for the masterminds of the attack launched a cordon and search operation in Pingilana village, about 15 km from the site of the attack, early on Monday. When surrounded the militants opened fire at the forces, triggering retaliation. In the ensuing 11-hour gunbattle, four army personnel, including a major, and a civilian were killed. The slain personnel — identified as major VS Dhoundiyal, havaldar Sheo Ram, sepoy Ajay Kumar and sepoy Hari Singh — belonged to the 55 Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army. Heavy exchange of fire was reported and villagers were appealed to stay indoors. The house where the terrorists were hiding was blasted. An AK47 and a pistol were recovered from the site of the encounter. Recently, two militants were killed on February 13 in a gunfight with the security forces in Badgam district during a cordon and search operation. Before that, Hizbul Mujahideen militant Hilal Ahmed Rather, the main accused in planning the escape of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Naveed Jhutt last year, was gunned down by Jammu and Kashmir police in Pulwama on February 12. An army jawan also lost his life in the encounter in Ratnipora. As many as five terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizb-ul Mujahideen were killed in another encounter in Kulgam.<doc-sep>A candle light vigil being held in New Delhi to pay tribute to the CRPF personnel who were killed last week. (Photo: Reuters) A total of 44 security personnel from the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district since February 14. Forty paramilitary personnel were killed on Thursday when a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist -- a suicide bomber -- rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy headed for Srinagar. India swiftly withdrew Pakistan's Most Favoured Nation status, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that the perpetrators of the attack would "pay a very heavy price". Security forces have detained 23 men with links to the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Reuters reports. On February 18, within four days of the first attack, four Army personnel were killed in an encounter with terrorists in Pulwama. One of them was a major. A civilian has also reportedly been killed. Terrorists believed to be from the Jaish-e-Mohammed, including a commander, are trapped in the ongoing encounter in Pulwama, sources said. The sources said the trapped gunmen are believed to have links to the attack which killed 40 CRPF men. India has warned Pakistan to stop supporting terror organisations such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed and other Islamist groups that operate from its soil. However, Islamabad remains in denial and rejected suggestions claiming its involvement in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14.<doc-sep>
Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, including the commander who masterminded Thursday’s terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, were killed in an encounter in the south Kashmir district, in which four army personnel and a civilian also died. Sources said Kamran, a Pakistani terrorist believed to have plotted the terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers, and a local militant named Hilal have been killed in the gunfight in Pinglan area of Pulwama district. Another terrorist is still trapped, sources said. The slain terrorists were identified as Kamran, a Pakistani national and top commander of the Jaish, and Hilal Ahmad, a local recruited by the terror group, an official said. The four Army personnel who were killed in action were identified as major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, hawaldar Sheo Ram, sepoy Hari Singh and sepoy Ajay Kumar. They belonged to 55 Rashtriya Rifles. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Pinglan area last night after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the area, PTI quoted a police officer as saying. He said as the forces were conducting searches, the militants fired upon them, triggering a gun battle. The civilian succumbed to his gun shot injuries at the hospital, police said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. In a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the attack, India has highlighted Pakistan's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. India has demanded that Pakistan take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control to create a conducive atmosphere in the region, free of terror. India on Friday announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan with immediate effect on Saturday. The weekly Poonch-Rawalakot bus service and cross-border were also suspended on Monday in view of the prevailing law and order in Jammu.