News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

This article was first published 10 years ago
Rediff.com  » News » Pak Taliban using toxic chemicals in bombs: Report

Pak Taliban using toxic chemicals in bombs: Report

By Sajjad Hussain
October 24, 2013 13:00 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

The Pakistani Taliban have mastered the science of manufacturing explosive devices using more toxic chemicals to inflict lethal injuries on their victims, according to a media report.

Doctors treating survivors of Talliban suicide attacks have said that the victims developed complications due to presence of toxins in the explosives, the Dawn reported.

"Survivors of the Taliban's bombs suffer from chronic wounds that leave scars on skin and don't respond to antibiotics with proven efficacy in other surgical infections," the report said.

The explosives used by the Taliban left lasting effects on the injured people as the Taliban have now mastered the science of manufacturing bombs that cause more than the intended casualties, it quoted officials as saying.

The terrorists used phosphorus in explosives that destroyed human cells, according to officials. The Taliban-made bombs produced carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which damaged the oxygen-binding capacity of the survivors.

"The survivors may go into coma and end up dying due to stoppage of the oxygen-carrying process of victims when smoke caused by the explosives penetrates their bodies," they added.

The officials said that the explosives used by the Taliban in all attacks were pale, white or yellowish in colour, which meant that their source was the same. The survivors of Taliban bomb attacks often develop contractures and other physical deformities due to injuries.

Forensic experts at health and police departments said that even deep wounds caused by gunshots or knives were treatable but the people injured in Taliban attacks had to live with lifelong deformities after recovery.

Easy availability of raw materials for bombs like magnesium, potassium and sodium made the task of the Taliban easy, experts said.

Even the survivors of bomb attacks with 10 per cent injuries die ultimately because the wounds become septic. The Taliban manufactured bombs locally as transportation of explosives through long routes carries the risk of being caught, the report said.

The main source of making explosives was fertilisers, the report said, adding that the Taliban have circulated booklets in Pashto, Urdu and Persian about bomb making.

The health experts said that the only chance to reduce the quantum of physical injuries to the victims was to rush them immediately to hospitals to clean their wounds.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Sajjad Hussain in Islamabad
Source: PTI© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
 
CHINESE CHALLENGE - 2022

CHINESE CHALLENGE