The Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed the bomber was Adil Ahmad Dar, a resident of Gundibagh village in south Kashmir's Pulwama, who had joined Jaish in March last year. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)At least 37 CRPF soldiers were feared killed and over 40 injured on Thursday in the single worst terror attack in the Valley when a suicide bomber rammed his Scorpio SUV laden with explosives into a CRPF bus in south Kashmir. The Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as a 20-year-old local boy from south Kashmir's Pulwama district.
The bus, ferrying 42 soldiers, was part of a convoy moving from Jammu to Srinagar of 78 vehicles ferrying 2,547 CRPF personnel. It was about 35 km from Srinagar city when, at around 3.30 pm, the SUV is suspected to have emerged from a side road to hit the bus at a right angle. The convoy had started from Jammu at 3.30 am Thursday.
“The casualty figure is likely to go up as some more jawans have been critically injured in the attack,” said a senior CRPF official.
Security personnel near Awantipora blast site. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)At the scene of the attack in Lethpora, the bus was a mangled frame of wires hurled up and across the road divider, the remains of the soldiers scattered over a large area, their belongings draped from trees. A second bus was also hit but there were no casualties reported from it although some passengers onboard were injured.
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