NEW DELHI — At least 37 paramilitary police officers were killed by a massive car bomb in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the worst attack on security personnel since the start of the insurgency in the disputed region three decades ago, according to a Washington Post report. The attack occurred on Feb 14 afternoon around 3:15 p.m., police officials said, as a security convoy of 70 vehicles traveled down a major highway toward the city of Srinagar.
An explosive-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber rammed into a bus carrying dozens of paramilitary personnel, said Sanjay Sharma, a spokesperson for India’s Central Reserve Police Force. The killings will inflame tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, which both claim the Himalayan territory of Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of sheltering and supporting militants that cross into Indian-controlled territory to carry out attacks against Indian rule.
Kashmir is part of India’s only Muslim-majority state. Since 1989, militants have waged attacks against Indian forces in Kashmir, fighting either for the territory’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
Jaish-e-Mohammed, or Army of Mohammed, a militant group that seeks to merge Indian-held Kashmir with Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. Based in Pakistan, the group is led by a radical cleric named Masood Azhar. Kenneth Juster, the U.S. ambassador to India, posted a statement on Twitter condemning the attack and sending condolences to the families of the victims. “The United States stands alongside India in confronting terror and defeating it,” he wrote.
The United States officially labeled Army of Mohammed a terrorist organization nearly two decades ago. In 2017, Washington pushed the United Nations Security Council to designate Azhar as a terrorist, but the move was vetoed by China. Police officials said that the death toll in the attack could still rise. With 37 officers confirmed killed, it was the deadliest militant assault on security personnel in Kashmir and one of the worst attacks in the history of the insurgency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking reelection in polls later this spring, called the attack “despicable” in a post on Twitter. “I strongly condemn this dastardly attack,” he wrote. “The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain.”
Modi has taken a tough line on matters of national security. In 2016, a team of militants stormed an army base near the town of Uri in Indian-held Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers. In the days after the Uri attack, Modi ordered what the government termed “surgical strikes” on militant hideouts just inside Pakistan-controlled territory.
A statement issued by India’s foreign ministry pointed the finger at the country’s neighbor. The leader of Army of Mohammed has “been given full freedom” by the government of Pakistan to “carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity,” it said. Indian news outlets showed images of the wreckage left by the attack, including a vehicle that was blasted open and reduced to ribbons of charred metal. Izhar Ahmad said that he was driving to a relative’s house when he came upon the site of the attack, where he saw blood-soaked bodies lying on the road and a number of damaged security-force vehicles. Local journalists circulated a video in which a man claims to be the attacker. He says he joined Army of Mohammed a year ago. “By the time this video reaches you,” he states, “I will be in heaven.” The Post could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Kashmir is part of India’s only Muslim-majority state. Since 1989, militants have waged attacks against Indian forces in Kashmir, fighting either for the territory’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
Jaish-e-Mohammed, or Army of Mohammed, a militant group that seeks to merge Indian-held Kashmir with Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. Based in Pakistan, the group is led by a radical cleric named Masood Azhar. Kenneth Juster, the U.S. ambassador to India, posted a statement on Twitter condemning the attack and sending condolences to the families of the victims. “The United States stands alongside India in confronting terror and defeating it,” he wrote.
The United States officially labeled Army of Mohammed a terrorist organization nearly two decades ago. In 2017, Washington pushed the United Nations Security Council to designate Azhar as a terrorist, but the move was vetoed by China. Police officials said that the death toll in the attack could still rise. With 37 officers confirmed killed, it was the deadliest militant assault on security personnel in Kashmir and one of the worst attacks in the history of the insurgency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking reelection in polls later this spring, called the attack “despicable” in a post on Twitter. “I strongly condemn this dastardly attack,” he wrote. “The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain.”
Modi has taken a tough line on matters of national security. In 2016, a team of militants stormed an army base near the town of Uri in Indian-held Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers. In the days after the Uri attack, Modi ordered what the government termed “surgical strikes” on militant hideouts just inside Pakistan-controlled territory.
A statement issued by India’s foreign ministry pointed the finger at the country’s neighbor. The leader of Army of Mohammed has “been given full freedom” by the government of Pakistan to “carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity,” it said. Indian news outlets showed images of the wreckage left by the attack, including a vehicle that was blasted open and reduced to ribbons of charred metal. Izhar Ahmad said that he was driving to a relative’s house when he came upon the site of the attack, where he saw blood-soaked bodies lying on the road and a number of damaged security-force vehicles. Local journalists circulated a video in which a man claims to be the attacker. He says he joined Army of Mohammed a year ago. “By the time this video reaches you,” he states, “I will be in heaven.” The Post could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
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