Another attack in Pulwama; grenade hurled near police station, several civilians injured

On Monday, at least six soldiers, and two civilians, were injured in a car bomb explosion that targeted a military vehicle in Pulwama. The attack took place when a patrol unit of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles was moving towards Arihal village in the district.

The failed attack comes days after Pakistan informed India of a possible attack in the district near Awantipora. A top security official in Srinagar had confirmed to The Sunday Express about the possible attack by militants using an IED mounted on a vehicle. “The Pakistanis shared this information regarding the possibility of such an attack with our High Commission in Islamabad. They had also shared this information with the Americans, who too, informed us. So this information has come directly as well as via the Americans to us,” an official had said.

The site of the blast is 27 kms from the area where a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a suicide bomber on 14 February in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed

In another incident, an Army Major was killed in a gunbattle in Anantnag district on Monday. The officer killed in the gunbattle was identified as Major Ketan Sharma (31) of 19 Rashtriya Rifles — his family is in Meerut. A militant, who is suspected to be a foreign national, was also killed in the exchange of fire during a joint security operation in Badoora village of Achabal early morning. Two other Army officers were injured, J&K Police said.

The attacks are a reminder of the challenges on the ground for security forces and the administration in the Valley as J&K braces for the start of the Amarnath Yatra next month. The poll panel too is looking at a window for the conduct of Assembly elections in the state before the onset of winter.