Army convoy attacked in Srinagar

According to Army spokesman Lt Col Vijay K Batra, six jawans died on the spot and three in the hospital, while 19 others, including the driver and conductor, were injured.

‘‘The jawans were on their way to Mansabal via Ganderbal when militants detonated a car bomb,’’ said Batra.

The jawans were travelling in a civil bus and were being escorted by a Quick Reaction Team of the Army. All the injured jawans were shifted to Srinagar base hospital, he said.

The powerful blast, it could be heard 5 km away and was the second of its kind in the last two weeks. Earlier, 14 people were killed and 70 injured in the Pulwama blast.

DIG Hemant Lohia said militants had fitted explosive devices in a car and parked it on the road. Witnesses said a private bus in the convoy was hurled several metres away. Police and security forces cordoned off the area.

The Hizbul Mujahideen later claimed responsibility for the attack. A man introducing himself as a spokesman of the outfit called news agencies and said that the explosives-packed vehicle had been parked at the site minutes before the Army convoy was to pass by.

According to Lt Col Batra, the militants triggered an IED with the aim of inflicting maximum casualties, both among Armymen and tourists. ‘‘The car bomb was exploded metres away from Nishat Bagh where tourists are coming in hundreds. As many as 2,000-2,500 tourists are landing in the Valley daily, many of them for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage.’’

The Mufti government, which is trying hard to revive tourism and is expecting ten lakh tourists this year, tried to play down the attack, saying ‘‘it is an aberration’’.

‘‘We are down but not out. The idea was to scare but people are ready to fight it out,’’ said a tourism officer. And to prove him right, a large number of tourists showed up at the lake-front minutes after the blast.