Indian security forces have averted a major incident involving a vehicle carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) on Thursday morning.
The police said a car (JK 08 B1426) with motorcycle license plates attempted to circumvent a barricade after security personnel asked the driver to stop at a check point.
"The security forces opened fire. The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the car laden with IED. We got intelligence about a possible attack. We were looking for a vehicle with IED since yesterday," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.
Around 20 kilograms of explosives was recovered from the car after it was defused by bomb disposal squad personnel.
Last year, on 14 February, at least 40 troops from the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in a suicide bombing in the same district. India accused Pakistan of harbouring the attackers and in retaliation, the Indian Air Force bombed a suspected camp of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, Pakistan.
Since the first week of April this year, 30 security forces personnel, including officers, have lost their lives in an increased number of terrorist incidents in Kashmir. Indian security forces fear more terror incidents will occur over the summer, having eliminated Riyaz Naikoo, commander of the terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, earlier this month.