Armour piercing bullets now in terrorist arsenal, triggers alarm in J&K

Srinagar: Bullets with steel cores: a new addition into the ammunition of terror groups especially Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed have triggered alarms within the security establishment as it has the capability to pierce a static bulletproof bunker, such as those used during counter-terrorism operations, officials said.

The first such incident in which this was noticed, had occurred on new year’s eve, when Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists had carried out a suicide attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Lethpora in South Kashmir when one of the five personnel of para-military force was killed by a bullet despite having a static bullet-proof shield provided by the Army, officials said. Five CRPF personnel were killed in the attack.

A thorough inquiry showed that the bullet fired by the terrorist from the assault AK rifle was of steel core which has the capability of piercing through the static bunkers used by security personnel during encounters with terrorists.

The findings showed that the bullet, which is mainly termed as Armour Piercing (AP), is built of hardened steel or tungsten carbide.

"Precautionary measures have already been taken after the findings," said a senior official engaged in counter-terrorism in the Kashmir Valley.

Generally, the AK bullets used in the armoury have a lead core covered with mild steel which cannot penetrate a bullet proof shield but after the December 31, 2017 encounter and subsequent findings, the rules of the proxy-war changed, the officials said.

A detailed analysis of the previous suicide attacks was carried out during which ballistic analysis of the terror attack on district police lines of Pulwama in South Kashmir in last August showed that 'steel core' bullets had been used in that encounter by the terrorists on security personnel. Eight security personnel had lost their lives in the terror strike.

The ammunition, according to the officials, is being modified from across the border with the help of Chinese technology of encasing the bullet with hard steel core.

There have been instances when these bullets, though very small in numbers, have been recovered from hideouts mainly belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group.

"Every ammunition round seized during recovery is scrutinized minutely to look for such bullets. In the meantime, direct exposure of security personnel using static bullet-proof shield was being avoided," another official said.