New Delhi:
Former Army chief VK Singh has strongly condemned the attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy at Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district and said that every drop of soldier’s blood will be avenged. “As a soldier and a citizen of India, my blood boils at the spineless and cowardly attacks. 42 brave hearts from the @crpfindia laid down their lives in #Pulwama. I salute their selfless sacrifice & promise that every drop of our soldier’s blood will be avenged (sic),†Singh said.
This is one of the worst attacks since the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing.
As a soldier and a citizen of India, my blood boils at the spineless and cowardly attacks. 18 brave hearts from the @crpfindia laid down their lives in #Pulwama. I salute their selfless sacrifice & promise that every drop of our soldier’s blood will be avenged. #JaiHind
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) February 14, 2019
According to reports, so far 30 jawans have been martyred in the attack and several others are reportedly injured. The death count is likely to rise. The CRPF personnel were killed when a terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus they were travelling in. Reports suggest that there were nearly 70 vehicles in the convoy in which around 2500 personnel were traveling. "Senior officers at the spot, the investigation is underway. Injured being taken care of. There were 2500 personnel in the convoy," CRPF DG RR Bhatnagar said.
Officials said the reason why so many CRPF personnel were on the move at one time was because the Srinagar-Jammu highway had been shut for the past two days due to bad weather.
According to reports, terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed the responsibility of the attack. The terrorist who was driving the explosive-laden vehicle has been identified as Aadil Ahmad alias Waqas Commando from Kakapora of Gundi Bagh, Pulwama. Reports claim that the vehicle which collided with the convoy was carrying over 200 kg of explosives.
An officer said the CRPF and police would carry out a detailed investigation to understand the circumstances in which the attack took place.
