Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 28, 2008
Introduction: Bomb Design Changed To Mask
Pak Signature On Explosives
Recent terror attacks have marked a significant
change in the modus operandi of jihadis where they have shelved the use of
RDX and replaced it with locally available fertilisers and TNT, intended to
mask Pakistan's signature on the explosives.
Though the mix of ammonium nitrate and RDX is lethal and has a larger impact
involving mass casualty at the blast site as seen in the Sarojini Nagar blasts
in New Delhi and those at Malegaon, Mumbai and Varanasi, the use of ammonium
nitrate mixed with TNT is low in strength. But if the blasts are orchestrated
in a serial manner, like it was done in Jaipur and Ahmedabad, in a crowded
market, the impact remains the same.
Sources said that though RDX was available
in some European countries and Pakistan, the variety smuggled by terrorist
outfits in India was of a particular quality that had Pakistani signature
on it.
The smuggling of the explosives involves a
long chain of couriers, one reason why jihadi outfits, of late, have made
a significant change in bomb design. The chain is as strong as its weakest
link-longer the chain, more the chances of it being detected.
With bomb-making manuals easily available
on the internet on al-Qaida-friendly sites, it is much easier for a home-grown
terrorist to download the know-how and assemble bombs with locally available
ingredients. B Raman, former additional secretary, said globally the trend
has been to use locally available material and avoid using RDX. He added that
even the al-Qaida uses ammonium nitrate for explosives.
After Varanasi, Mumbai and Malegaon blasts
in 2006-where RDX was the chief ingredient-the bomb make-up in subsequent
serial blasts in UP courts (November 2007), Jaipur, Bangalore and now Ahmedabad
has changed primarily to ammonium nitrate with nails and ball-bearings to
act as bullets and missiles. The blasts, in all cases, were triggered by timer
devices.
Whenever the use of RDX is detected, the needle
of suspicion points towards the Lashkare-Taiba, a Pakistan-based outfit which
is suspected to have played a role in the attacks in Mumbai, Varanasi and
Delhi.
