Date 1 October 2001 Deaths 38 Suspected perpetrators Jaish-e-Mohammed | Attack type 4 Bombings Non-fatal injuries n/a | |
Location Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India | ||
On Monday, 1 October 2001 the 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.
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The Attack
The attack took place at about 2 PM one hour after close of business. One terrorist attacker drove the 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 was escorted to safety by the security forces.
The aftermath
The terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility and named 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.". Not to be confused, coincidentally the name of the younger brother of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who served as the 14th Prime minister of Pakistan, is also Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain.