As more and more details come up in the course of the investigation, it seems to be pretty sure that the explosions that took place during the Boston Marathon were caused by 'pressure cooker bombs' - the pressure cookers were loaded with nails and ball bearings, along with explosives, for maximum effect! To a lot of innocent civilians who're at the spot, life's never gonna be the same as before!!
Reading about it, I was taken back in time towards late 1987, when the Indo-Sri Lankan accord had slowly begun to go awry and our defence forces were pitted against Prabhakaran's deadly LTTE guerrillas. The latter was wreaking havoc with their unconventional use of IED and home made crude bombs to stunning effect. I'd only heard about it from second hand accounts and so when an army course mate of mine had offered to give me the feel of the prevalent ground realities, I'd jumped at his offer. He had sent a jeep to fetch me as the distance from my location to his, at Elephant pass, had to be traversed through uncharted territory as the guerrillas had haphazardly strewn mines and booby traps on the pathways and only the armymen could find their way through safely 'marked channels'!
And I'd set off on my journey in the morning after an early breakfast as I wanted to return to my ship before sunset. We must have driven for over an hour and a half, when we sighted a devastating scene. It was a badly mangled station wagon - with two Tamil civilians in it - that had taken a direct hit from one of the 'claymore' (derives its name from the Scottish, two-edged broadsword) mines in its path.
What was explained to me then was that the guerrillas used to pack the normal biscuit tins with phosphorous and put a large number of nails and ball bearings along with it before attaching a remote controlled fuse. The furiously flying nails and ball bearings, soon after the blast, would hardly give any time to the victim, even to say his last prayer! I could never get over the frightening sight of those poor civilians for many days after!!
Coming back to the Boston mishap, the biscuit tin has been replaced by the pressure cooker. And as I'd said in the beginning, terrorism has the same face everywhere, irrespective of groups or affiliations. They need to be tackled and dealt with swiftly and without compassion!
Tailpiece.
Had my jeep passed that spot before the station wagon, that morning somewhere in northern Sri Lanka, I wouldn't have been here to write this piece. But I must admit that I learnt a lot from that journey, besides seeing the lush, green Lankan countryside and of course, spending an interesting and informative time with my friend!
Reading about it, I was taken back in time towards late 1987, when the Indo-Sri Lankan accord had slowly begun to go awry and our defence forces were pitted against Prabhakaran's deadly LTTE guerrillas. The latter was wreaking havoc with their unconventional use of IED and home made crude bombs to stunning effect. I'd only heard about it from second hand accounts and so when an army course mate of mine had offered to give me the feel of the prevalent ground realities, I'd jumped at his offer. He had sent a jeep to fetch me as the distance from my location to his, at Elephant pass, had to be traversed through uncharted territory as the guerrillas had haphazardly strewn mines and booby traps on the pathways and only the armymen could find their way through safely 'marked channels'!
And I'd set off on my journey in the morning after an early breakfast as I wanted to return to my ship before sunset. We must have driven for over an hour and a half, when we sighted a devastating scene. It was a badly mangled station wagon - with two Tamil civilians in it - that had taken a direct hit from one of the 'claymore' (derives its name from the Scottish, two-edged broadsword) mines in its path.
What was explained to me then was that the guerrillas used to pack the normal biscuit tins with phosphorous and put a large number of nails and ball bearings along with it before attaching a remote controlled fuse. The furiously flying nails and ball bearings, soon after the blast, would hardly give any time to the victim, even to say his last prayer! I could never get over the frightening sight of those poor civilians for many days after!!
Coming back to the Boston mishap, the biscuit tin has been replaced by the pressure cooker. And as I'd said in the beginning, terrorism has the same face everywhere, irrespective of groups or affiliations. They need to be tackled and dealt with swiftly and without compassion!
Tailpiece.
Had my jeep passed that spot before the station wagon, that morning somewhere in northern Sri Lanka, I wouldn't have been here to write this piece. But I must admit that I learnt a lot from that journey, besides seeing the lush, green Lankan countryside and of course, spending an interesting and informative time with my friend!
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