Lethal weapons

Shampoo bottles, bicycle seats, tiffins. A plastic container or an LPGcylinder. A parcel of books. A clock, a teddy bear. In the Kashmir V...

Shampoo bottles, bicycle seats, tiffins. A plastic container or an LPGcylinder. A parcel of books. A clock, a teddy bear. In the Kashmir Valley,any one of these innocuous objects can be fatal. They are all commonly usedby militants to fashion bombs and improvised explosive devices IEDs. Butthe most lethal of all is the remote controlled explosive device, hidden ina ditch, a drainpipe or a parked vehicle.

8220;Improvised explosive device explosions and bomb blasts are hands offoperations and involve little risk to militants,8221; says Border SecurityForce Chief in Kashmir, Inspector General K. Vijay Kumar. 8220;In fact, thebasic aim of insurgents is to create sensation and attract media attentionby their strikes. The IEDs carry that element of sensation and surprise inthem. They can inflict heavy damage too, like Monday8217;s incident when twosenior Army officers got killed at Rajawar,8221; he says.

The latest series of IED attacks across the Valley is believed to be a shiftin strategy to avoid casualties. 8220;The Fidayeen suicidal attacks too aresensational, but they involve more risk and personal loss since they arehands on operations,8221; Kumar points out. Inspector General of CentralReserve Police Force P.C. Joshi also believes the militants use IEDs for thesurprise element.

It8217;s easier for militants to hide IEDs on kuccha roads or in a drainpipe andthen detonate them when the vehicle carrying the VIP or security officerspasses by. In fact, militants had launched massive sneak-in attacks on Army,Border Security Force and police camps across the Valley soon after theKargil war ended last year. However, the loss of committed cadre in thesesuicidal missions seemed to have forced them to shift to planting IEDs. 8220;Ifproperly trained, local militants are much more effective in detonating thedevices. They know the roads and can easily find places to plant IEDs. Infact, most of the IED attacks have been conducted by local cadre of militantoutfits,8221; an Army officer says.

Contrary to popular belief, the explosive generally used in IEDs is notResearch Development Explosive RDX but Trinitrotoulene TNT. An Armyofficer who has studied bomb disposal says militants have been generallyusing black TNT. 8220;We have also found RDX, but TNT and other explosives arepreferred,8221; he said.

Militants, he said, were also using Rode explosive and gelatine sticks whichare used for blasting during road construction. The other explosives usedinclude Gun Cotton GC Slabs, Gun Powder in the shape of small blackgrains, Cordite a whitish powder and even fertiliser, he added. In fact,militants had even been using the plastic explosive Kerki. 8220;Militantsgenerally use Gun Cotton for the big blast effect,8221; he said. 8220;RDX howevercan be moulded into any shape; thus if they want to turn a tiny toy into anIED, they use this highest quality explosive.8221;

IEDs have five components and the difference only lies in the initiatingmechanism. 8220;The main difference in various types of IEDs is how the circuitcomes alive, the switches and the method of detonation,8221; the officer said.8220;There are three types of switches: anti-handling switches, ambient andthose which work on command mechanism,8221; he said. Anti-handling switches canbe activated by touch; ambient switches on the other hand go off withchanges in climate, humidity, light smoke or magnetic field. But themilitants8217; favourite is the command mechanism. 8220;In this case, there is wirewith a switch, a remote control device or even an IED can be detonatedthrough radio signal. In fact, detonation through radio signal is commonlyused. Militants often use wireless sets to explode IEDs,8221; he explained.

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The officer said the two other types of detonation mechanisms employed bymilitants in the Valley are the pre-set timer devices, like a clock or timerof a washing machine, which are fitted to IEDs and detonated. 8220;Even IEDsare being detonated through pressure and release mechanism,8221; he said.8220;However, this mode of detonation is not employed by militants here. Infact, they detonate IEDs through pressure and release mechanism only inborder areas where there are lesser chances of civilian casualties.8221;

How can IED blasts be avoided? Security forces have made sanitisation ofroads by Road Opening Parties a compulsory exercise. 8220;Do not touch anyunclaimed object. Never take any suspicious object lightly8221; are two basictips. For radio-controlled IEDs, jammers are the best choice, but they stillremain a luxury for police and troops in the Valley. The only jammer seen onSrinagar8217;s roads belongs to Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

However, the jammer is of no use if the IED is detonated through means otherthan a radio remote. Troops generally use metal and explosive detectorsapart from sniffer dogs to detect this hidden tool of devastation.

8220;There are two aspects to bomb and IED handling: detection and defusion,8221;says IG Kumar. 8220;We have created awareness among our troops regarding thedetection of IEDs. They are on alert the moment they see anything out ofplace. We have bomb disposal experts at the sector and battalion levels whothen take over.8221; The BSF has three-four teams of bomb disposal experts whohave recently returned from high-level training at Hazari Bagh RanchiTraining Centre and will act as trainers.

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The Army, say sources, has jammers but they are mainly used in sanitisingmilitancy zones across the Valley. The local police, however, lack bombdisposal expertise. There are some district level bomb disposal squads, butthey are not equipped to handel the latest explosives or technology used bythe militants.

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