9 army soldiers, civilian injured in Pulwama car laden IED blast

Srinagar: At least nine army men and a civilian, who was working in a filed, were injured when militants triggered off explosives-laden in a car at Aarihal village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Monday evening.

A police official said that around 06:00 pm militants triggered the blast as soon as army’s vehicle (Hardened ALS) of 44 RR reached near the car parked on the roadside near Aarihal.

In the blast, the army vehicle suffered extensive damage and nine soldiers travelling in it were injured. All the injured soldiers were removed to army’s 92 base hospital where the condition of three of them who were boarding cabin of the vehicle, are stated to be serious.

A civilian namely Abdul Ahad Mir who was working in a nearby field also suffered injuries and was immediately taken to district hospital Pulwama where from, he was referred to Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment.

The officer said that the explosives were fitted inside a car and investigators are probing the owner of the vehicle.

Asked, which type of vehicle was used, the officer said that it is a matter of investigation.

“Samples have been collected and further probe is underway,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, Army said that the explosion was a “failed attempt”, which caused “minor injuries” to few soldiers.

“A failed attempt was made to attack a mobile vehicle patrol of 44 RR with a Vehicle-Based IED while the Army patrol was moving in the general area Arihal in district Pulwama today evening,” said a defence spokesman.

Local residents of the area said that they heard a loud sound of the blast followed by firing which triggered panic in the area.

Soon after the incident, additional reinforcement of army, police and SOG was rushed to the spot and launched a massive search operation to nab the attackers.

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