Source : http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=44244&Cat=8
For the third time in three days the Pakistan Navy has been the target of bombers. Once again, the modus operandi was the same. A marked bus carrying naval officers and staff to work was hit by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) which was remotely triggered. As these lines are written, there are five dead and 18 injured. The attack took place on a principal thoroughfare during the rush hour and civilians formed part of the collateral damage. The attack is so similar to the previous two blasts that it may be assumed that these are all the work of the same group. No group has as yet claimed responsibility and it is not clear why the navy is the target, but what is clear is that a skilled team of bombers is on the loose.
Attacks such as this require detailed reconnaissance and the ability to build a bomb that can be reliably remotely triggered. The bombers are lucky in that our roads offer plentiful opportunity for the concealment of explosives in any of the innumerable holes that pit them. Similarly, few would look twice at a small group of men digging a hole in the road or seeming to be busy repairing a sewer culvert or blocking off an open manhole cover. There may have been CCTV coverage of the place where the bomb was planted; but the bombers may be surveillance-aware, possibly able to disable the cameras. As to targets, the roads of our cities are clogged every morning with well-marked buses taking army, navy and air force personnel to work. They do not vary their routes as they are often working a ‘pick and drop’ service which is predictable to a window of a few minutes daily. Bombing teams like this are difficult to counter if they are well-trained and have good internal security – and an IED cannot decide to abort the operation as might a suicide bomber. We must expect more of the same, and hope that our security services are able to locate and neutralise the terrorists who take our lives as a farmer cuts his corn.
For the third time in three days the Pakistan Navy has been the target of bombers. Once again, the modus operandi was the same. A marked bus carrying naval officers and staff to work was hit by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) which was remotely triggered. As these lines are written, there are five dead and 18 injured. The attack took place on a principal thoroughfare during the rush hour and civilians formed part of the collateral damage. The attack is so similar to the previous two blasts that it may be assumed that these are all the work of the same group. No group has as yet claimed responsibility and it is not clear why the navy is the target, but what is clear is that a skilled team of bombers is on the loose.
Attacks such as this require detailed reconnaissance and the ability to build a bomb that can be reliably remotely triggered. The bombers are lucky in that our roads offer plentiful opportunity for the concealment of explosives in any of the innumerable holes that pit them. Similarly, few would look twice at a small group of men digging a hole in the road or seeming to be busy repairing a sewer culvert or blocking off an open manhole cover. There may have been CCTV coverage of the place where the bomb was planted; but the bombers may be surveillance-aware, possibly able to disable the cameras. As to targets, the roads of our cities are clogged every morning with well-marked buses taking army, navy and air force personnel to work. They do not vary their routes as they are often working a ‘pick and drop’ service which is predictable to a window of a few minutes daily. Bombing teams like this are difficult to counter if they are well-trained and have good internal security – and an IED cannot decide to abort the operation as might a suicide bomber. We must expect more of the same, and hope that our security services are able to locate and neutralise the terrorists who take our lives as a farmer cuts his corn.
No comments:
Post a Comment