- An improvised explosive device kills 34 security personnel in Pulwama, Kashmir
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls the attack ‘dastardly’
- It is the deadliest terrorist attacks seen in the troubled valley in recent years
The Indian government has issued a stern warning in response to the militant attack that has killed at least 42 Indian security personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack in a tweet along with other leading ministers of his cabinet.
"The attack ... is despicable. I strongly condemn this 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," Modi tweeted.
Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba is said to be rushing to Srinagar for a high-level security meeting on Friday, reported IANS.
"Today's dastardly attack ... is extremely painful and disturbing. I bow to each and every CRPF jawan who has sacrificed his life in service to the nation," India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley called the attack an act of “cowardice: while warning that “terrorists will be given an unforgettable lesson for their heinous act.”
The Pulwana attack is the worst since militancy erupted in 1989. On Thursday afternoon, a suicide bomber reportedly rammed an SUV packed with explosives into a bus carrying CRPF security personnel, killing at least 42 and injuring many others.
The bus was part of a 78-vehicle convoy that was travelling on the the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama district.
The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Moahammad (JeM) has claimed responsibility for the bloodbath and released a video clip of the suicide bomber which it claimed was shot before the young man carried out the audacious attack in Lethpora, about 30 km from here.
The group said one of its commanders, Adil Ahmad Dar, was the suicide bomber.
Police sources and other officials told IANS the suicide bomber-driven SUV came along the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bus when the 78-vehicle convoy carrying 2,547 security personnel was going from the transit camp in Jammu to Srinagar and rammed it into the bus around 3.15 p.m., triggering a deafening explosion.
The first report spoke of eight deaths. But the death toll quickly mounted. The bus was said to be transporting 39 troopers.
CRPF officials told IANS the bus was the main target of the militants and was destroyed fully while another CRPF vehicle was partly damaged. "It is difficult to believe how anyone in the bus could have survived," said a police officer.
WIih IANSSee also: 34 security personnel killed in Kashmir in major militant attack: Reports
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