SRINAGAR, India (CU)_Security forces in the Indian-controlled Kashmir are reported to be alarmed by the recent arrival of “Sticky bombs” in the disputed region that has undergone a decades-long insurgency. The small, magnetic bombs, which have previously wreaked havoc in Afghanistan, can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely. Officials say that the bombs have been seized during raids in recent months, in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir.
“These are small IEDs and quite powerful,” Kashmir Valley police chief Vijay Kumar, told Reuters. “It will certainly impact the present security scenario as volume and frequency of vehicular movements of police and security forces are high in Kashmir Valley.”
The arrival of sticky bombs in the region has raised concerns that the tactic attributed to the Taliban insurgents in nearby Afghanistan could possibly be reaching the India-Pakistan conflict. Over the recent months, there has been a series of sticky-bomb attacks in Afghanistan, targeting security forces, government officials, judges, journalists and civil society activists. Although the attacks have avoided substantial civilian casualties, however, they have been able to sow widespread fear in the country.
Meanwhile, a senior security official, who requested to remain anonymous, said that none of the explosive devices seized in Kashmir were produced there, suggesting that they may have been smuggled from Pakistan. “All of them have come via drone drops and tunnels,” he said.
According to officials, the explosives are particularly worrying owing to their ability to be easily attached to vehicles using magnets, which could potentially allow militants to carry out assassinations or target military convoys that regularly cross the valley.
Kashmir has sparked two of the three wars between India and Pakistan, since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. The Himalayan territory, which the parties claim in its entirety, remains primary source of regional tensions in South Asia.
Nevertheless, New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing the insurgency in in the region, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1990s. However, Pakistan has rejected these claims, saying the country only provides moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir who are fighting for self-determination.
