The Pulwama attack was a terrorist attack that took place on February 14, 2019, in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir in India.
A convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was targeted by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber, who rammed an explosive-laden car into one of the buses carrying the personnel.
The attack resulted in the death of 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the perpetrator.
The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attack was widely condemned by the international community, and India accused Pakistan of supporting and harboring the terrorist group responsible for the attack. Following the attack, India launched a military operation in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, targeting Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps. The tension between India and Pakistan escalated, and both countries engaged in cross-border air strikes.
The Pulwama attack was widely viewed as an intelligence failure, as the security forces were not able to anticipate and prevent the attack despite prior intelligence warnings. According to reports, the intelligence agencies had received specific inputs about a possible attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in the Kashmir Valley, but the information was not acted upon effectively.
The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, who was able to get close to the convoy of Indian security personnel without being detected. The failure to detect and intercept the vehicle-borne explosive before it could reach the convoy has been attributed to various reasons, including inadequate security measures, lack of proper equipment, and communication failures.
The Pulwama attack led to significant scrutiny of the intelligence agencies and their ability to anticipate and prevent terrorist attacks. The Indian government has since taken several measures to strengthen the intelligence infrastructure and improve coordination among various agencies to prevent similar attacks in the future.
The Pulwama attack was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Indian security personnel and led to a significant escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. The attack and the subsequent events have had a significant impact on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and have raised concerns about terrorism and regional stability in South Asia.