10 CRPF troopers killed in suicide attack in Kashmir

Ten Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed and 15 others injured on Thursday in an audacious suicide attack by militants on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Police said the militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting a CRPF bus in Lethpora area, about 30 km from here, around 3.15 p.m.

"Ten CRPF jawans were killed and 15 others injured in the attack," a police officer said, adding that some of the injured were in critical condition.

All the injured have been shifted to the Army's Base Hospital in Srinagar.

"The IED had been planted inside a moving car on the highway and was detonated when the car came close to the CRPF bus which was part of a CRPF convoy coming to Srinagar from Jammu," the officer said.

Reports said the militants also fired from automatic weapons at the CRPF bus after detonating the IED.

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh confirmed that 10 CRPF troopers had been killed and said it could well have been a suicide attack.

The Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant group claimed responsibly for the bloodbath.

In a statement to a local news agency GNS, a caller claiming to be a spokesman of JeM said it was a 'fidayeen' (suicide) attack by the outfit.

--IANS

sq/oeb/mr/pg