IED blast in J&K's Awantipora

Srinagar, March 2 (IANS) An improvised explosive device (IED) went off in a Jammu and Kashmir village in Awantipora on Saturday, barely 4 km from the February 14 Pulwama attack spot where 40 CRPF troopers lost their lives. No life was lost in the 3 a.m. explosion though that rocked the Amlar village. But window panes of houses were shattered and a large crater was created at the blast site, the police said. The Pulwama attack cascaded into a major cross-border tension between India and Pakistan after the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed the attack, and New Delhi responded with an Indian Air Force strike on the JeM's largest terror camp within a fortnight. An IAF pilot was subsequently captured by Islamabad during a dogfight, but was eventually returned within two days.
--IANS sq/in/ksk