US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI5592

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 005592 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DS/DSS/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, IN, PK, Kashmir 
SUBJECT: SRINAGAR BOMBING MERITS PUBLIC USG RESPONSE 
 
 
Classified By: Charge Robert O. Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (U) This is an action request.  Please see para 7. 
 
2.  (C) Summary: A powerful car bomb possibly detonated by a 
suicide bomber killed at least 3 security personnel and two 
unidentified persons (probably including the terrorist) 
outside of a school today in Srinagar.  Police sources tell 
us that terrorists' capability in Kashmir remains strong, 
infiltration efforts are surging, and the terrorists have 
shifted their targeting to "quality, not quantity."  The GOI 
is playing down the significance of the rise in infiltration 
to avoid disrupting the Indo-Pak peace process.  Post 
recommends that Department condemn the bombings, especially 
as it occurred during PM Manmohan Singh's stay in Washington. 
 End Summary. 
 
Blast Kills 5, Injures 17 
------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) An explosives-laden Maruti car exploded near the 
high-security Church Lane Road (where several state ministers 
live) in Srinagar on July 20 at approximately 9 a.m. local 
time.  The explosion took place near the residence of the 
Chief Justice of J&K, and outside the Burnhall School, a 
Christian missionary school whose student population is 
mostly Muslim.  The car bomb exploded next to a passing Army 
truck, killing at least three soldiers and two others, one of 
whom may be the suicide bomber. 
 
4.  (C) The Director General of Kashmir Police confirmed the 
death toll, and said an additional 11 people were injured, 
but there were no injuries at the school.  Later media 
reports raised the number of wounded to 17.  Based on the 
strength of the blast, police assume that the explosive was 
RDX.  The Inspector General of Police informed us that the 
car rammed the Army truck before exploding, suggesting that 
one of the unidentified dead persons was a suicide bomber. 
There had been no claim of responsibility as of 10 a.m. local 
time. 
 
5.  (C) The DG also told us that infiltration across the LOC 
has continued "unabated," confirming a July 19 Army press 
statement disclosing a surge in infiltration attempts in the 
past ten days.  While the Army stated that it is prepared to 
thwart these attempts, terrorist capability in the valley 
remains strong, the DG said, telling us that one terrorist 
shot by security forces on July 18 was carrying 180 sticks of 
dynamite wrapped in Pakistani newspapers.  The DG told us 
that terrorists have been selecting high-profile targets 
including state ministers in a strategy of "quality, not 
quantity." 
 
Comment: Kashmiris Sick of Terrorism 
------------------------------------ 
 
6.  (C) The rise in terrorist infiltration across the LOC has 
been widely noted and leads to a growing perception here that 
Pakistan is reneging on its commitment to check cross-border 
terrorism.  The Army, however, has played down the 
significance of the surge, attributing it to the timing of 
snow melt in the mountain passes, and has claimed that the 
incidents will not disrupt the ongoing peace process.  Army 
Chief of Staff JJ Singh asserted in a July 19 briefing that 
"it would not be fair" to blame the Pakistan Army for the 
current round of infiltration, and the GOI, at least for now, 
is going out of its way to avoid pointing fingers at 
Pakistan, reflecting concern this could undermine political 
support for the peace process.  The BJP has been less 
restrained, responding to the July 20 attack by accusing the 
UPA of being "soft towards terrorism," and promising to 
question the Congress-led government's record on terrorism in 
the upcoming Parliament session.  In Srinagar, the bombed 
street had reopened by noon local time, and city life is back 
to normal.  Srinagar interlocutors have told us that the 
terrorists will claim responsibility this time because they 
hit their target (soldiers), unlike previous unclaimed blasts 
that have killed only civilians.  The Kashmiri people are 
sick of terrorism and want to return to a normal life. 
 
Action Request 
-------------- 
 
7.  (C) The Prime Minister's speeches in Washington 
highlighted the threat that India continues to face from 
terrorists and appealed for broader resistance to all 
manifestations of terrorism.  Post recommends that Department 
respond to this latest terrorist act, which put 
schoolchildren at risk, with a strong public condemnation. 
BLAKE