Army Major Killed While Defusing Bomb In Jammu And Kashmir's Rajouri

A Major-rank Army officer was killed and a soldier suffered injuries on Saturday while defusing an improvised explosive device at Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri. The officer is from the Corps of Engineers.

The explosive had been planted by intruders from Pakistan about 1.5 kilometres inside the Line of Control.

"At about 1500 hours on 16 Feb 19, during sanitisation of track in Naushera Sector, mines were detected on the track. Major Chitresh Singh Bisht leading the Bomb Disposal Team defused one of the mines successfully. While neutralizing another mine, the device got activated and the officer suffered grievous injuries and attained martyrdom," the government said in a statement.

Saturday's incident comes just 48 hours after more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the worst terror attack on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Thursday afternoon, a suicide bomber detonated a car-load of explosives next to a large convoy of 78 CRPF buses with over 2,500 personnel travelling on the highway from Jammu to Srinagar. The attack was immediately claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Following the attack, the government decided to take all possible diplomatic steps to ensure "complete isolation" of Pakistan and withdrew 'Most Favoured Nation' status to the country. On Thursday evening, New Delhi urged the international community to back the naming of Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar as a "UN designated terrorist"; the Pakistan-based terror outfit has claimed the attack.

This was the second IED attack along the Line of Control in the same sector since January. On January 11, two Army personnel, including a major, were killed in Nowshera.