Maoists have devised a smart way of concealing crude bombs in animal excreta to deceive sniffer dogs, says report prepared by a joint security command on IED threats.

Naxalites have developed some lethal and crude ammunition like Rambo arrows, topped with gun powder, and improvised rocket bombs as part of their new armoury to be used on security forces, says a new report.

The report, prepared by a joint security command on improvised explosive device (IED) threats in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-hit areas said Maoists have devised a smart way of concealing crude bombs in animal excreta to deceive sniffer dogs of the security teams from detecting and alerting their masters. “There were occasions in the first quarter of 2017, when sniffer dogs of security forces were killed or injured as pressure IEDs exploded while the canines were getting agitated because of the obnoxious smell (of the excreta) while trying to detect the hidden IEDs,” the report accessed by PTI said.

One of the newest technique witnessed in the LWE-hit areas, the report said, was the use of an innovative explosive material called ‘Rambo arrow’. “The arrow head carries low grade gun powder or fire cracker powder which explodes after hitting the target. The arrow doesn’t cause much damage but disorients the security personnel by generating intense heat and fog, thereby making it easy for Maoists to inflict fatal battle injuries on the troops and helps them to loot their weapons,” the analysis of the new IED trends said.

Maoists are increasingly using this technique instead of high grade explosives or IEDs as such a blast damages the weapons of the security personnel.

Naxals have also developed improvised mortars and rockets. “In the rockets, a conical nose filled with explosives is welded into the tail-section which is filled with low-explosive propellant fuel and the funnel shaped nozzle on the tail produces thrust and fins loosely screwed to the tail provide stability to the rockets in flight...,” the report said. Once the rocket strikes, an explosion takes place and creates a boom impact, it said.