Your bravery will continue to inspire us: India pays tribute to 2019 Pulwama victims

New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) Paying homage to the 40 killed Central Reserve Police Force personnel in one of the deadliest terror attacks on the security forces in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said their bravery and supreme sacrifice motivates every Indian to work towards a strong and prosperous country.

"I pay homage to all those martyred in Pulwama on this day in 2019 and recall their outstanding service to our nation," said Prime Minister on social media platform.

On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group attacked the CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 personnel were killed.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also hailed the sacrifices made by the CRPF jawans. He said, "Heartfelt tribute to the brave jawans of CRPF who upheld the sovereignty of the country by making their supreme sacrifice in the cowardly terrorist attack of Pulwama."

The minister said that the nation will always be indebted to their sacrifice. "Your bravery will continue to inspire us to root out terrorism," he stated on social media platform.

After the deadliest attack, India then launched a counter-terror airstrike against a JeM training camp and in the early hours of February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force jets bombed the JeM terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.

In a following aerial skirmish, India's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman piloting a MiG-21 Bison aircraft shot down a much-advanced F-16 of Pakistan Air Force. But his MiG 21 was shot down and was captured by the Pakistan forces. He was released after a few days.