A major tragedy was averted on Thursday when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the roadside was defused by the army in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Police here said a patrol party of the army detected a five-kilogram IED placed inside a pressure cooker alongside the Kupwara-Sogam road, 85 km from here in north Kashmir, on Thursday afternoon.
"The IED was detected by the alert patrol party of the army. It was defused without causing any damage, thereby averting what could have been a major tragedy," police said.
Security force convoys move regularly on the Kupwara-Sogam road in the district.