Roadside bombs aimed to target security force convoys, civilians: Army

Srinagar, Oct 24: Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) or roadside side bombs are aimed to target convoys of security forces and civilians in Kashmir, and this year 8-9 IED’s have been diffused or recovered by agencies, officials said.
A top army officer told Rising Kashmir that roadside bombs are still a challenge for security forces and various measures are being taken to overcome it.
He said mostly these IEDs are placed along highways, vehicles, bridges, etc. These bombs are aimed to target army convoys, police vehicles, and civilians, the official said.
“In the past 8 months, around 8-9 IED (roadside bombs) have been diffused or detected by security forces in various parts of Kashmir,” he said.
On 19th October, security forces averted a major tragedy by detecting and destroying 20-kilogram IED along the Handwara-Baramulla road in north Kashmir.
Similarly, on 15th October, security forces averted a major tragedy by detecting and destroying18-kilogram IED in Bandipora.
On Aug 21, police recovered 10-12 kgs in Tral, and in similar month 30Kg IED was recovered along Circular Road in Pulwama by Police and Security Forces.
The official said it is still a challenge and they are working on a joint strategy to avert these incidents in the future. Our bomb squads are well trained to diffuse them within a short period of time, he said.
“Every morning Road Opening Parties (ROP) of the army clear each step of highways in the valley to avert any eventuality. It is a continuous process and we are working on it,” he said.
The official said detection equipment such as metal detectors, and video cameras installed on vehicles or unmanned vehicles are commonly used. More measures are in place, he said.
About the making of IED’s, the official said foreign terrorists are mostly trained for making IED’s and after finding a safer hiding place, OGW’s are being used to assemble explosives.
“From the past three years, the trends of planting IEDs have decreased. So far this year we have diffused 8-9 IEDs, 9 were recovered in 2020, and 12 were recovered in 2019,” he said.
“The IED attacks are unpredictable and challenging sometimes,” he said.
In 2019, Kashmir witnessed the deadliest IED attack in which at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into a security convoy in Pulwama.