The death toll in the Pulwama terrorist attack has reached 44, making it one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. A convoy of around 2,500 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel was targeted by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar. He was driving an SUV carrying around 200 kg IED explosives. The vehicle rammed into one of the buses carrying jawans, leaving several body parts strewn around the area. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the sacrifices of "our brave security personnel shall not go in vain", people across the country have demanded the strongest possible action against the dastardly terrorist attack. Massive anti-Pakistan protests have rocked Jammu and Kashmir's winter capital. Demonstrations and candle light marches were held after the attack. Braving the rains, several people took to the streets in Jewel Chowk, Purani Mandi, Rehari, Janipur, Gandhinagar, Bakshi Nagar, Muthi, Talab Tilloo and Satwari and protested against the killings. An NIA team with suitable forensic component will leave today for Kashmir to assist the Jammu and Kashmir Police in forensic evaluation of the spot. Mobile internet services have also been suspended in Jammu over security concerns. "We strongly condemn today's attack in J&K's Pulwama. We express our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives & to the people & Govt of India. We wish a speedy recovery to injured & call for those behind the attack to be brought to justice," the United Nations said in a statement. This was the first suicide car bomb attack in Kashmir since the 2001 strike on the Legislative Assembly in which 41 people, including three suicide attackers, were killed. The scene of Thursday's attack is not very far from the Commando Training Centre at Lethpora, which was stormed by Jaish militants on December 31, 2017, killing five CRPF personnel. The Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been a favoured route for militants to target security forces. The CRPF bore the brunt of a militant attack at Pampore, less than seven km from Lethpora, in June 2016, losing eight jawans while 22 others sustained injuries. In an attack on the Uri military base in September 2016, Jaish militants killed 18 Army jawans and injured dozens of others. The ferocity of the attack led to India conducting a surgical strike against Pakistan. With agency inputs Also Read: Kashmir terror attack: At least 44 jawans killed as Jaish suicide bomber blows CRPF convoy<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>A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives rammed a bus carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops, part of a large paramilitary convoy, on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Thursday, was feared to have killed at least 40 men while reducing the vehicle to a mangled heap of metal, in the deadliest terror attack in three decades of insurgency — one, which many experts said, would evoke a strong response from India. At least 20 more were injured in the attack in the Awantipora area of Pulwama district. Terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, which Indian authorities say is backed by Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack that took place in Lethpora, about 30 km from Srinagar. While the police put the official death toll at 33, security officials in Srinagar and New Delhi said at least 40 people had died. Watch | Pulwama terror attack: Govt vows swift response Jaish said the suicide bombing was carried out by a local militant whom it identified as Adil Ahmad Dar of Pulwama.He joined the Jaish in 2018, PTI cited unnamed officials as saying. The Jaish claimed in a statement that the vehicle was carrying 350 kg of explosives, which Indian authorities did not confirm. “Attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama is despicable. I strongly condemn this dastardly attack,” PM Narendra Modi said in a statement as political parties denounced the attack in unison. “Sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs. May the injured recover quickly.” Also read | 44 CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama terror attack were returning from leave Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter: “I’m deeply disturbed by the cowardly attack on a #CRPF convoy in J&K in which many of our brave CRPF men have been martyred and a large number wounded, some critically.” In a tweet, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala charged the Modi government with compromising national security and said terror attacks had taken place unabated under it. The attack may ratchet up tensions between India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik said the fact that Jaish owned up to carrying out the attack indicated that Pakistan may have had a hand in it. Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitender Singh, told television channels that the attack had led to a “war- like” situation. “This is a bigger attack than Uri. Unlike the Uri attack, a Pakistan-based terror group has claimed responsibility There will be much more pressure on Pakistan, but my hunch is, because a Pakistan-based group has claimed responsibility, New Delhi too, will have to act. The form and shape of the retaliation will be the government’s prerogative,” said General DS Hooda, former Northern Army commander. The ministry of external affairs, while condemning the “heinous and despicable act perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation proscribed by the United Nations and other countries” called for its chief Masood Azhar to be listed as a designated terrorist under the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council. The security establishments at the Centre and in the state, which is under federal rule, were huddled in meetings to take stock of the situation following the attack that precedes general elections, likely to be held simultaneously with state elections, in the spring of 2019. National security adviser Ajit Doval was monitoring the situation and senior CRPF officials were briefing him. The Cabinet committee on security affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, is to meet on Friday to decide on and articulate India’s response. Home minister Rajnath Singh will be visiting Srinagar on Friday to assess the situation. Also read | Pulwama suicide bomber, 22, lived 10km from spot Thursday’s attack was the deadliest since insurgency broke out in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989. In the previous worst terror strike, 38 people were killed in a car bomb attack in Srinagar near the legislative assembly in October 2001. In September 2016, four terrorists attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, killing 19 army personnel.That attack was the spark for a retaliatory surgical strike on terrorist camps across the LoC by Indian forces just days later. Near the town of Kaluchak in 2002, three militants attacked a tourist bus from Himachal Pradesh and killed seven people after which they raided the nearby army family quarters and shot 23 people to death — 10 children, eight women and five soldiers. According to some accounts, in Thursday’s attack, the driver of the car positioned himself in the opposite direction on a lane next to the one on which the CRPF convoy was travelling on, and swerved and rammed the CRPF bus when he noticed the unarmoured vehicle. CRPF’s inspector general (operations) Zulfiqar Hassan said the Jammu and Kashmir police had taken over the investigation of the terror attack “There were around 78 vehicles in the convoy and one of the vehicles came under attack. The convoy was on its way from Jammu to Srinagar,” he said. The CRPF convoy of around 2,500 troopers left the Channi Rama transit camp in Jammu around 3:30am and was headed to the Bakshi Stadium camp in Srinagar when the vehicle was attacked, said Jammu-based CRPF spokesman Ashish Kumar Jha. From Bakshi Stadium, they were to have travelled to their respective camps. Over the past week, no CRPF envoy had been able to travel on the highway because it had been blocked by snow, Jha said. “Therefore, the number of the CRPF jawans [in the convoy] swelled. The incident happened around 3.15pm,” he said. When asked if there had been a security lapse, he said, “A thorough probe will be conducted but such a large convoy is visible from a distance itself. CRPF jawans belonged to different battalions. Points of halt and resuming journey of such convoys are always fixed”. Also read | ‘No words’: Political leaders across parties unite in grief on J&K attack International governments, and national and regional political parties condemned the attack.<doc-sep>Pulwama attack updates: PM Modi pays tribute to slain CRPF personnel In one of the deadliest attack ever on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, 40 CRPF personnel were martyred and several others were injured when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama district.<doc-sep>
The site of the attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, resembled a war zone with body parts and vehicle debris strewn about (Photo: IANS) At least 44 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in a dastardly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. The well-planned attack used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (known as VBIED) to target a CRPF bus that was part of a 70-vehicle convoy. The convoy was on the Srinagar-Jammu highway and was on its way to Pulwama when a suicide bomber belonging to the terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad drove an explosive-laden SUV into the bus. The SUV was carrying explosives weighing nearly 300 kgs and the bus had 39 jawans on board. At least 44 jawans who were part of the convoy were killed in the resulting explosion. Two of the jawans who were killed were part of the road-opening party, which travels a short distance away from the main convoy. ALSO READ | Pulwama terror attack: In last 5 years, J&K saw 93% rise in death of security personnel in terror attacks The bus targetted by the suicide bomber, who the Jaish-e-Mohammad identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, was completely destroyed in the attack. The site of the Pulwama attack resembled a war zone with body parts and vehicle debris strewn about. One of the CRPF buses in the convoy was blown up in the powerful IED blast The Pulwama attack is the biggest in Jammu and Kashmir's history. The attack took place when the convoy was passing through the Gundipoora section of the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Lethipora near Awantipora. The convoy was made up of buses, trucks and SUVs. Each bus/truck was carrying 35-40 jawans of the CRPF. Terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. A spokesperson of the banned terrorist organisation said "dozens of forces' vehicles were destroyed in the attack". Approximate location of the Pulwama terror attack Jaish-e-Mohammad identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmad Dar and even released a video of him. In the video, Adil Dar can be seen brandishing rifles and standing in front of Jaish-e-Mohammad banners. We're tracking the Pulwama terror attack and and its fallout live. Follow our live blog on the Pulwama terror attack here. 'REMINISCENT OF DARK DAYS OF MILITANCY' Reactions poured in from across the country as the death toll kept rising in the Pulwama terror attack. PM Narendra Modi said the attack was "despicable" and "dastardly" attack. "The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs. May the injured recover quickly," PM Modi said in a tweet. Union minister Arun Jaitley called the attack an example of "cowardice" and said, " Terrorists will be given unforgettable lesson for their heinous act." Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said he was "deeply disturbed by the cowardly attack". Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah reacted to the "terrible news". "A number of CRPF soldiers are reported to have been killed & injured in an IED blast. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. My prayers for the injured & condolences to the families of the bereaved," Abdullah said in a tweet. Abdullah also said that the attack was "reminiscent of the dark days of militancy pre 2004-05". Mehbooba Mufti, former Jammu and Kashmir CM, tweeted, "Disturbing news coming in from #awantipura . Twelve of our security personnel have been martyred and several have been injured. No words are enough to condemn the gruesome terror attack. How many more lives will be snuffed out before this madness ends?" Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "strongly condemned" the attack. "Extremely shocking news coming from Pulwama (J&K). I strongly condemn the terror attack on CRPF convoy in which many casualties are feared. India must stand united in this moment of grief," Kejriwal said in a tweet. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, "We salute our brave jawans and extend our solidarity and condolences to their families. Our prayers for those injured. We wish them a speedy recovery." Complete coverage of the Pulwama terror attack: Photos capture devastating aftermath of Kashmir terror attack PM Modi condemns Pulwama blood bath, says sacrifice will not go in vain When will the 56-inch chest reply?