42 security personnel killed in Kashmir in major militant attack: Reports

• The attack took place at Lechpora, about 30 kilometres from Srinagar in Kashmir’s Pulwama district
  
• The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In what could become another flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations, at least 42 security personnel in Kashmir have reportedly been killed in a blast on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

The attack took place at Lechpora, about 30 kilometres from Srinagar in Kashmir’s Pulwama district when a van packed with explosives rammed into a bus carrying security personnel, IANS reported citing police sources.

The incident took place when some 2,547 CRPF personnel were coming in a convoy of 78 vehicles from the transit camp in Jammu and headed to Srinagar.

According to the IANS report, the death toll could rise as some of the injured personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were in a serious condition.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In 2016, 18 Indian soldiers were killed in the Uri district, following which India conducted a ‘surgical strike’ in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

With IANS