Pakistani militants, who carried out a deadly fidayeen (suicide) attack in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town on July 12 that left five CRPF personnel and a police officer dead, used Chinese-made steel bullets which can pierce bullet-proof jackets and cause heavy damages.

Sources said the initial investigation into the attack suggests that the steel bullets were used by the militant to cause severe injuries to the security personnel. The steel bullets pierced through the bulletproof jackets of the jawans, thereby causing injuries to them, it revealed.

Last Wednesday, militants attacked security forces on KP Road in Anantnag, killing five paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a station house officer (SHO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police. One of the fidayeen militants was also killed in the retaliatory action by the forces.

“Police recovered an AK 47 rifle and some rounds of steel bullets from the encounter spot. The strategy to use bullets with a steel core is to target forces personnel who usually wear bulletproof jackets,” a senior police official told DH.

He said it’s the latest addition into the ammunition of militant groups especially Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and has the capability to pierce a static bulletproof bunker used during counter-insurgency operations.

In a similar attack on 31 December 2017, Jaish militants had carried out a fidayeen attack on CRPF camp at Lethpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district when one of the five personnel of para-military force was hit by a bullet fatally despite carrying out a static bullet-proof shield provided by the Army. Five CRPF personnel were killed in the attack.

The probe findings in Lethpora attack had shown that the bullet, which is mainly termed as Armour Piercing (AP), is built of hardened steel or tungsten carbide.

“Precautionary measures were taken after the findings. However, the ammunition is being modified from across the border with the help of Chinese technology of encasing the bullet with a hard steel core. The bulletproof jackets currently being provided to security personnel in Kashmir are not capable of repelling steel bullets,” the official added.