IED detected, destroyed in Bandipora dist

Srinagar, October 15

Security forces today averted a major tragedy by detecting and destroying an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The IED, weighing around 18 kg, was fitted with two gas cylinders in Astango area of the north Kashmir district, they said. Srinagar-based PRO Col Emron Musavi said based on intelligence received from the police and corroborated by the Army, a joint operation was launched. “Search parties were immediately deployed and an area of 300-metre radius was cordoned off. The IED was detected at 8.35 am,” he said.

A bomb disposal squad neutralised the IED, which was found in close proximity of the Bandipora-Sopore road, without any collateral damage, he said. The Bandipora-Sopore highway is an important line of communication for civil traffic as well as for the army and CAPF convoys. “Army stands by its commitment to keep Kashmir terror-free,” Chinar Corps of the Army wrote on Twitter.