At least 18 CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday when a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus they were travelling in, officials said.

The terror group has claimed responsibility for the incident, they said.

Police identified the terrorist as Adil Ahmad from Kakapora in Pulwama. He joined the Jaish-Mohammed in 2018, they said.

The casualties are likely to go up.

Several people were injured in the terror attack, which reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron. Body parts could be strewn around the area.

The vehicle was blown up on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Awantipora area of the district, a police official said.

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