Soldier killed and three others injured in a blast in Subhanpora area

Police officials said a terrorist attack took place around 10:15 am, when an improvised explosive device (IED) blast was reported near government middle school in Subhanpora village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Qaimoh police station.

Four army personnel of 24RR sustained injuries in the blast and were evacuated to a nearby hospital for the treatment, where one of them succumbed to injuries. Investigation revealed that a rudimentary IED with a low powered explosive and ball bearings was planted in an abandoned building inside the school premises, where army men used to visit on routine basis, as part of their patrolling duty.

Police officials said the IED was planted by militants probably during the previous night. The police registered a case under relevant sections of the law regarding the incident.

“Investigation is in progress and officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of this terror crime. Area has been cordoned and search in the area is going on,” read the official statement.

The army said in a statement that militants had lobbed a grenade on army’s road opening party during a sanitisation drill, in which four army personnel received splinter injuries and they were evacuated to 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.

In 2020, about 243 militancy related incidents were reported in J&K and 225 militants were killed, according to the J&K Police data. Besides, about 174 locals joined the militant ranks, out of which 76 were killed and another 46 were arrested.

After the abrogation of special status of J&K and downgrading of the state into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh on August 5 and 6, 2019, J&K witnessed emergence of new militant groups such as The Resistance Front, People’s Anti-Fascist Front and J&K Ghaznavi Force and revival of Al Badr. The police maintains that all these groups are linked to established terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.