A major tragedy was averted in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday morning after the police detected and defused an IED along the Srinagar-Baramulla highway.
Officers were conducting a routine inspection of roads and highways when they found a suspicious object in the Palhallan area. A bomb disposal squad later confirmed the suspicious object as an IED.
The area was immediately sealed off, and the traffic was stopped on the highway for public safety. The bomb disposal unit neutralized the device within hours by the Jammu and Kashmir police, thereafter which the traffic movement resumed.
It is not yet clear who was behind planting the explosive. The blast occurred around 30 to 40 km from Gulmarg, a tourist destination which attracts huge rush during this time of the year.
Terrorists have used remote-triggered or pressure IEDs more and more in recent months on roads across Jammu and Kashmir to target security forces and army convoys. Such IEDs have also been used to target VIP convoys in the state.
In a related development last week, authorities sealed three houses in Shopian and Baramulla districts under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with separate terror cases. The properties were owned by those associated with terrorist activities including that of known militants.
