Srinagar: Three army men were injured, one among them critically, after a blast took place in their vehicle in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir during an anti militancy operation , officials said on Thursday.
They said the nature of the blast which took place at Sedow Shopian inside a private hired vehicle by the Army is being investigated.
Srinagar based defence spokesman Col Emron Musavi said the blast is very likely to be from either an improvised explosive device (IED) or a grenade or a battery malfunctioning in the vehicle.
He said the blast took place at Sedow when the Army launched an anti militancy operation in the wee hours.
“At approximately 3 am, based on specific intelligence, an operation was launched from Sedow COB (Company Operating Base) to lay cordon and search in general area Patitohalan. While moving to the target area, approximately a km from Sedow, an explosion took place in the civil hired vehicle, being used by the team, resulting in injuries to three Indian Army soldiers,” he said.
“The injured personnels were immediately shifted and given first aid at District Hospital, Shopian and thereafter evacuated to 92 Base Hospital, Srinagar. One soldier is critical while two other injured are stable,” the spokesman said.
Earlier Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar had said the nature and source of the blast was being investigated.
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