The world celebrates Valentine's Day on February 14 but this day is known as a 'black day' for India because of the brutal Pulwama attacks. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Indian security forces to date, when 40 CRPF bravehearts lost their lives.
The Pulwama attack took place in 2019, making tomorrow the fourth anniversary of the terror attacks. Four years ago, on February 14, India was brought to a standstill as the news of 40 CRPF officers losing their lives broke out on our TV screens.
In one of the worst terror strikes, a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle full of explosives into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). What followed was a scene of the carnage wreaked by the terror attack on the afternoon of February 14, 2019.
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Burnt body parts and mangled steel of the army truck carrying jawans lay strewn across the Jammu-Srinagar segment of National Highway No 44 that cuts through the Pulwama district of south Kashmir.
Soon after the attack, Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack, posting a video of the assailant Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year-old man.
How India reacted to the Pulwama attack
A few days after the deadly attack on India’s security forces, a counter-terror airstrike was carried out by India's defence forces. In the early hours of February 26, 2019, several Indian Air Force jets bombed the terror camps of Jaish in Balakot, killing close to 500 terrorists.
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After the airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan Air Force tried to retaliate by conducting a strike on Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, an attempt which was foiled by the IAF. During the conflict, India's Wing Commander Abhinanadan Varthaman was shot down and captured by Pakistan’s forces.
It's been 4 years since we faced the horrors of the Pulwama attack but, to this day, February 14 is still observed as a ‘black day’, in memory of the brave CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the attack.
