Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Indian investigators probing the bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat in Delhi have woken up to the use of ‘sticky bombs’ – a very unconventional weapon hence very dangerous. It has never been used in India and hence suggests the hand of a foreign agency.
Known as ‘Obwah Lasica’ in the Arab world, the small and furtive sticky bomb has emerged as a device of choice for insurgent groups active in the Middle East.
Technologically, it is an explosive device attached to a magnet or gummy adhesive. It easily fits into the palm of the bomb planter. Light and portable, sticky bombs are tucked quickly under the bumper of a car or attached to its body to turn it into a lethal weapon.
The small size and methodology ensure that the planter can get away quickly without being noticed and then trigger it remotely – generally using a cell phone.
These bombs are normally attached near to the fuel tank of a vehicle to multiply the damage caused by the explosive.
The sticky bombs are usually made by combining C4 with shrapnel – the US forces in Iraq termed it as ‘Homemade Claymore’.
It has been extensively used in Iran and Iraq to eliminate high value targets in an urban environment. Interestingly, an Iranian nuclear scientist was eliminated using a sticky bomb recently – an act blamed on Israel by Tehran.
Sticky bomb was not ‘invented’ in Iraq. Early version of similar devices were known as ‘Limpet Mines’ and were attached to the sides of ships during World War II, and in booby traps during the conflict in Northern Ireland.
They were first used in Iraq in late 2004.
First Published: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 12:39