Major tragedy averted as 7-kg IED detected near Jammu bus stand

Jammu: A seven-kilogram Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detected on Sunday near the crowded general bus stand area here, averting a major tragedy and a plan by terrorists to set off an explosion on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack, officials said.

The IED recovery comes close on the heels of the arrest of two top terrorists from Kunjwani in Jammu and Bari Brahmana area of Samba district.

The device was detected acting on specific information, the officials said.

Zahoor Ahmad Rather, a top terrorist affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF) who was wanted in connection with the killing of three BJP workers and a policeman in south Kashmir last year, was arrested in Bari Brahmana area of Samba on Saturday.

Earlier on February 6, self-styled commander of the Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM), Hidayatullah Malik, alias “Hasnain”, was held from the Kunjwani area of Jammu.

Two years ago on this day, Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out the dastardly attack on a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama, resulting in the death of 40 jawans.