Over 20 CRPF vehicles were target of JeM terrorists attempting 2019 Pulwama-like attack, suspect security forces

NEW DELHI: Nearly 400 jawans of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were the target of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the failed terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on Thursday, suspect senior security officials.

The CRPF convoy of nearly 20 vehicles was supposed to start from Srinagar on Thursday morning and reach Jammu when security forces seized and destroyed an IED-laden car on the convoy's route in Pulwama.

The plan had similarities with the 2019 Pulwama attack, which left more than 400 CRPF personnel killed as a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into their convoy.

"This convoy was supposed to start from Bakshi Stadium camp at around 7:00 am and was supposed to reach Jammu. The convoy had almost all rank officials and personnel of CRPF which were close to 400. It is suspected that terrorists wanted to target this convoy through a Santro Car seized and destroyed by Jammu and Kashmir police along with CRPF and Indian Army," a top CRPF official involved in the operation told ANI.

But this time, a couple of days ago, an intelligence input about a possible attack was communicated verbally, keeping in mind the gravity of the information, to all the forces. Jammu and Kashmir Police further developed it.

Finally, during the early hours of Thursday, security forces caught the vehicle full of IED and destroyed it.

"The vehicle was destroyed around 6 am and around 7:30 am Thursday parts of the destroyed vehicle were removed from an area where forces destroyed it. The operation was done in a very coordinated manner," a senior official claimed.

The security forces on Thursday prevented a massive 2019 Pulwama type car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir after they stopped a vehicle carrying over 20 kg of an improvised explosive device (IED), enough to carry out a major attack in Pulwama.

The police had said the car with a fake registration number was signalled to stop at a checkpoint but vehicle driver who was a terrorist accelerated and tried to escape with the vehicle.

"The security forces opened fire. The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the car laden with IED," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.