Suspected militants attacked an Army convoy with an improvised explosive device in Arihal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, reports said. There are no reports of any casualties yet, according to NDTV. Some reports said five soldiers were injured but others claimed nine were hurt.
Residents in the area said that “intense firing” took place after the blast, according to Greater Kashmir.
Defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia claimed it was a failed attempt, according to the Hindustan Times. “The attack was made on a mobile vehicle patrol of 44 RR [Rashtriya Rifles] with a vehicle-based IED while the Army patrol was moving in the general area Arihal in district Pulwama today evening,” he said.
“There were few minor injuries,” he added, but did not specify how many soldiers were injured. “Reports of attack on Army convoy are unfounded and baseless. The area was cordoned and search operations are in progress.”
The attack came months after 40 CRPF personnel died in an attack in Pulwama in February. A militant drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in Pulwama. Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. India retaliated by targeting a Jaish camp in Balakot in Pakistan with airstrikes. The airstrikes were described by the Indian government as a “non-military preemptive action”.
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