2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing


On Monday, 1 October 2001, three militants belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out an attack on the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly complex in Srinagar using a Tata Sumo loaded with explosives, ramming it into the main gate with three fidayeen suicide bombers. 38 people and three fidayeen were killed in this attack.

The Attack

The attack took place at about 2 pm, one hour after close of business. One terrorist attacker drove a Tata Sumo loaded with explosives to the main entrance and exploded it. The other militants entered the building and seized control. All militants were killed in the ensuing gunbattle which lasted several hours. No Lawmaker was killed since they were meeting in temporary facilities as the legislature building had recently been damaged in a fire. Many senior leaders had already left the building. The speaker Mr Abdul Ahad Vakil was escorted to safety by the security forces.

The aftermath

The terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility and named a Pakistani national Wajahat Hussain as the suicide bomber. Subsequently, the Indian foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement aimed clearly at the government of Pakistan. "India cannot accept such manifestations of hate and terror from across its borders" said the statement. "There is a limit to India's patience." Farooq Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, eulogized the 38 victims and called for reprisal attacks on Pakistan, where the group blamed for the attack is based. "The time has come to wage a war against Pakistan and to bomb the militant training camps there" he said. "We are running out of patience.".