Do the militants have armour-piercing bombs?

Two roadside bombing attacks within a month which seriously damaged two armoured cars, killed one officer and injured three others have raised suspicion among security officials in the far South that the Islamic militants might be capable of making more lethal improvised explosive devices (IED).

          The first attack took place on June 19 at a spot on road number 4060 between Si Sakhon and Rueso in Ban Dusong Majae, Si Sakhon district of Narathiwat.  Militants detonated an IED which was made of an LPG tank stuffed with more than 10 kgs of explosives and fertilizer buried under the road when a V-150 armoured car on a mission to provide protection to teachers passed through the spot.

          The powerful blast killed an officer and injured two others on board and the armoured car was damaged beyond repairs.

          The incident which occurred on July 3 in Bannang Sata district of Yala involved a South African-made REVA 4x4 armoured car.  The explosion caused by an IED which was a LPG tank stuffed with explosives and detonated by a mobile phone heavily damaged the car and injured a crew member.

          One significant finding from the one of the two bombing attacks was that traces of copper were found in the bodies of the wounded soldiers prompting the suspicion among security officers that the militants might have in their arsenal armour-piercing explosive devices.

          Bomb experts told the Isra news agency that the armour-piercing bombs used by terrorists in Iraq and several Middle Eastern countries contain a mixture of copper.

          It was widely known within security circle there are two methods to deal with an armoured car.  One method is to increase the amount of explosives to give more knock-out power to the IED.  Although the increased explosives may not be powerful enough to penetrate through the car’s armour, the force from the powerful explosion may send the car bouncing up from the road surface before it crash-landed.  The impact may cause death or serious injuries to the crew inside the vehicle.

          The other method is to use armour -piercing bombs which contain copper plate formed in the shape of a cone.  This kind of bombs is called EFP or explosively formed penetrator.  This technique of bomb making was said to first developed during the Second World War more than six decades ago and this was widely used by the terrorists in Iraq against the American armoured cars.

          Security officers said traces of copper were fund in the bodies of the injured soldiers in the REVA 4x4 armoured car but not in the V-150 armoured car but the bomb used to attack the second car was more powerful.

          The officers further said that the bomb makers in the far South might have learned the technique from social media such as Youtube.

          REVA 4x4 armoured cars were first deployed in the restive deep South three years ago.  Its armour, known as Armox shield from Sweden, is capable of withstanding bomb blast from a ten-kilo bomb.  It is equipped with bullet-proof glass window and capable of operating up to a distance of up to  500 km.  It has a maximum speed of 100 km per hour.

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Thanks : Photo from http://www.militarynewsnetwork.com/reference/efp.htm