An Army Major was martyred and a soldier suffered injuries while defusing an IED(Improvised Explosive Device) near the Line of Control (LoC) at Nowshera sector, Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri District on February 16, reported The Hindu.

The IED was apparently planted by “enemy forces within Indian territory” in Naushera sector, officials had said earlier. While other sources said that the IED appeared to have been planted by forces across the Line of Control (LoC), a modus operandi adopted by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to target Indian security forces deployed along border, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Successfully neutralized one mine, killed while defusing other

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said “At about 1500 hours (3 PM) on Saturday, mines were detected during sanitisation of a track in Nowshera sector. Major Chitresh Singh Bisht, who was leading the bomb disposal team, defused one of the mines successfully. While neutralising another mine, the device got activated and the officer suffered grievous injuries and attained martyrdom”, reported Hindustan Times.

Major Bisht, a resident of Dehradun, Uttarakhand belonged to Army’s corps of engineers and is survived by his parents, a retired policeman father and a homemaker mother. According to NDTV, Major Bisht was to going to his hometown on February 28 for his marriage scheduled on March 7.

Sources say that the officer and the soldier noticed freshly-dug soil on the dirt track and were checking the spot when the blast took place.

This is the second IED attack along the Line of Control (LoC) in the same sector this year. On January 11, two army personnel, including a major, we’re killed in Nowshera in an IED blast.

Pulwama attack which killed over 40 CRPF personnel

Saturday’s incident comes just two days after the worst terror attack on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden SUV into a CRPF convoy. The attack has been claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Indian government has decided to take all the necessary steps to isolate Pakistan and has already withdrawn ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status accorded to the country. India has also urged the international community to support its efforts to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Masood Azhar as a ‘designated terrorist’ by the United Nations.

Also Read: Over 41 Martyred & Many Injured In Deadliest Attack In 20 Years: All You Need To Know