Getting past the security dragnet thrown across the entire city a day before the Prime Minister’s visit, a suicide bomber, in an explosive-laden car, rammed into a BSF bus, killing himself and leaving 27 security personnel wounded. One of them died in hospital, three are critical.The bomber sped past a police checkpost on Airport Road and so powerful was the blast that the entire Hyderpora neighbourhood reverberated with the noise of the explosion. This is the third consecutive day that suicide bombers have struck: the attack on the Congress rally in Sunday that killed seven people followed by four grenade attacks in downtown yesterday.There was prior intelligence that two Maruti cars had been brought to Srinagar for this purpose. A massive hunt is now on for the second one.This is one of the many security scenarios that agencies are grappling with ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit tomorrow.Security officials are on tenterhooks after specific intelligence that Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Al-Badr and the Jaish-e-Mohammed have joined hands to launch co-ordinated attacks in the Valley ahead of the roundtable.Sources said directions have flown from Lashkar commander Abu Al Qama to his division commander in southern Kashmir to co-ordinate with his Jaish and Hizbul counterparts in launching three kinds of attacks: grenade launches, suicide bombs and car blasts. Over the past three days, agencies have witnessed all these attacks.There are intelligence inputs that terrorists will look to target camps of labourers working on the Udhampur-Banihal-Baramulla railway line. Security has been stepped up at these camps after Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi held a meeting to assess the situation on Monday.Ahead of the PM’s visit, Home Secretary V K Duggal was in Srinagar today to oversee security arrangements. With car bombs being a major threat, sources said no unauthorised vehicles are being allowed in within 200-300 m radius of the venue of the roundtable, the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre on the banks of the Dal.It’s learnt that Hizbul’s division commander for southern Kashmir Sohain Faisal has given instructions to carry out suicide bomb attacks and blasts using cars. The effort of terror groups being to organise as many spectacular incidents coinciding with the PM’s visit.After the firing at Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s rally on Sunday, six incidents had been reported until this evening. More were expected and the government had its fingers crossed with Singh keeping aside nine hours for the roundtable that he plans to hold over the next two days.While details of the security are being kept under wraps, sources said all methods from aerial reconnaissance to multi-layered security arrangements are being done to avoid any impostors from entering the sanitised area. With international media also turning up in large numbers, militant groups see this as an opportunity to make a point.It is in this context that labour camps have emerged as a soft target. They are largely non-Kashmiris from eastern parts of the country working on infrastructure projects that are an extension of Centre’s authority.Sources said around 6,000 security men have been spread across the city to prevent a militant attack. Special reaction teams of Army have also been called in.Deputy Inspector General of Police Farooq Ahmad told The Indian Express that the car bomber was signalled to stop. “He sped up to flee and drove in the opposite direction towards Budgam on the airport road.the bomber found a BSF bus going in the same direction and drove his explosive-laden car into the bus.” — with ENS, Srinagar
