At least 33 soldiers were killed and about 20 others wounded yesterday in a car bomb attack on a paramilitary convoy along a key highway in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
It was one of the deadliest car bombings in the disputed region’s history, security officials said.
Officials said a local Kashmiri militant rammed an explosive-laden van into the convoy, targeting a bus carrying at least 35 soldiers.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack in a tweet evening evening. “I strongly condemn this dastardly attack. The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain,” he said.
Kashmir Gov. Satya Pal Malik accused Pakistan of being behind the attack. “Visibly it seems to be guided from across the border as Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility,” Malik said in a statement. “Such actions will not deter the resolve of our security forces … we will finish these inimical forces to the last.”
Senior police officer Muneer Ahmed Khan said the attack occurred as the convoy reached southern Lethpora town on the outskirts of the main city of Srinagar. He said the bus was destroyed and at least five other vehicles were damaged by the blast.
Sanjay Sharma, a spokesman for India’s paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force, said many of the injured were in critical condition. “The blast was so powerful that one cannot recognize whether the vehicle was a bus or a truck. Just pieces of mangled steel remain of the vehicle,” he said.
Videos circulated by local news groups showed ambulances rushing to the site and people running as smoke billowed from the damaged vehicles. Debris and body parts littered the road.
Authorities closed the highway following the blast. Police officer Khan said soldiers and counterinsurgency police reinforcements were deployed in the area and were conducting searches.