Strict checks in place, terrorists shift to local bomb-making tech using common materials

NEW DELHI: The recent operations by the J&K Police and the Gujarat ATS have highlighted an insidious form of radicalisation - the so-called "white-collar terror ecosystem". However, what's more concerning is the recovery of common, dual-use materials - such as ricin from castor seeds and ammonium nitrate used in fertilisers - in terror plots. Sources said that this pointed to a critical shift in operational strategy, likely to have been necessitated by the stringent security checks at the borders and on traditional transit routes. This logistical chokehold is prompting terror commanders to have their recruits return to age-old, domestic bomb-making techniques using easily accessible, commercially available materials. Regarding the arrest of doctors, sources said that terror commanders were using Indian recruits who are radicalised but can dodge suspicion and detection by being in a respectable profession, affording Pakistan deniability in the process. The return to low-tech, high-impact techniques presents a fresh challenge for security agencies. According to intelligence officials, this modus operandi is preferred by terrorist groups since the ingredients are legal and sold, virtually over the counter, for legitimate commercial purposes and acquiring them does not immediately raise suspicion, making the planning phase extremely difficult to detect.

For example, terrorists are using normal watches as timers in IEDs, in a throwback to the days when Indian Mujahideen used parts of Ajanta brand of wall clocks as timers for bombs they set off in a series of terror attacks at important cities. "This tactic is preferred by terrorist organisations, as "improvised" itself means using non-military, accessible components. Even groups in Iraq and Afghanistan (including al-Qaeda and IS) which extensively used IEDs, often used homemade explosives which were triggered by common electronic items like cell phones," said a retired intelligence officer.

Even the LTTE in Sri Lanka was known for developing sophisticated IEDs and using fertiliser-based explosives in various attacks. The use of Homemade Explosives and readily available components for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) grants terrorist groups significant leeway for carrying out ISI's plans to engineer high-impact attacks without having to worry about arranging the large amounts needed for explosives like RDX. "Strategically, this approach is designed to inflict mass disruption and fear by causing violence through everyday items, thereby eroding public safety and generating propaganda that undermines govt stability," said another officer.