2019 Pulwama attack
The 2019 Pulwama attack occurred on 14 February 2019, when a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethapora in the Pulwama district of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The attack killed 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel as well as the perpetrator—Adil Ahmad Dar—who was a local Kashmiri youth from the Pulwama district. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed. India blamed neighbouring Pakistan for the attack, while the latter condemned the attack and denied having any connections to it. The attack dealt a severe blow to India–Pakistan relations, consequently resulting in the 2019 India–Pakistan military standoff. Subsequently, Indian investigations identified 19 accused. By August 2021, the main accused along with six others had been killed, and seven had been arrested.
| 2019 Pulwama attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | |
Lethapora Location of the attack in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir | |
| Location | Lethapora, Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Coordinates | 33°57′53″N 74°57′52″E |
| Date | 14 February 2019 15:15 IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Target | Central Reserve Police Force security personnel |
Attack type | Suicide attack, car bombing |
| Deaths | 40 (+1 suicide bomber) |
| Injured | 35 |
| Perpetrators | Mastermind is Mohammad Ismal Alvi he also known as Saifullah, Adnan or Lamboo † Jaish-e-Mohammed Lashkar-e-Taiba |
| Assailants | Adil Ahmad Dar |
| Accused | 19 (out of which 7 killed, 7 arrested) |
The Indian government ignored at least eleven intelligence inputs from multiple sources, including by the Indian intelligence agency Intelligence Bureau and Kashmir Police, before the attack. Satya Pal Malik, who was the governor of the state at the time, later alleged in an interview with Karan Thapar that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to remain silent on security lapses by his administration.