Bombs Strike Two Buses Carrying Navy Workers in Karachi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two bombs exploded on Tuesday next to two buses transporting employees of the Pakistan Navy in the southern port city of Karachi, killing at least four people, according to a senior Pakistani naval official. At least 56 other people were wounded.

A junior naval officer, one civilian doctor and two other naval civilian employees were killed in the early morning rush-hour attacks that targeted two buses, said Commodore Irfan ul Haq. He said it was too early to say why the naval buses were targeted.

No one claimed responsibility immediately, but Taliban insurgents and militant groups affiliated with the organization have repeatedly targeted civilians and military installations across the country. Karachi is the country’s largest city and considered the financial and commercial capital.

The first blast occurred in an upscale neighborhood, DHA Phase II, at 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday, police officials said.

The bomb was planted on a motorcycle that was idling by a main road and exploded as the naval bus passed, police said. The blast killed the junior naval officer and the doctor, injured 37 other passengers, destroyed the bus and shattered the window panes of nearby houses.

Minutes later, a second blast went off in Baldia Town, a relatively impoverished neighborhood in Karachi. The remote-controlled bomb was hidden in rubble alongside a road, according to police. This second blast killed the two other civilian naval employees and injured 19 others.

The blasts came just days after Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army chief, claimed to have broken the back of militants in the country. The army chief had made the claim on Saturday while addressing a ceremony of cadets at the Kakul military academy in the country’s north.

“It is a powerful message by the militants,” said Omar R. Quraishi, opinion pages editor of The Express Tribune, a Karachi-based, English-language daily newspaper. “The message is that we may be on the run, but we can strike at will and choose targets of our choosing.”

Analysts said that the commuter buses used by officers and staff of the navy were a relatively easy target as they travel on main thoroughfares with little or no security. Military installations, on the other hand, have become relatively difficult to attack because of stringent security measures.

 

Sprint radar imaging system peeps inside walls, floors to detect bombs, tell-tale hearts

 Cambridge Consultants sprints ahead with innovative counter-terror search technology

New 'Sprint' in-wall radar imaging system unveiled

Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology design and development firm, today unveiled 'Sprint', a prototype handheld device which provides a 3D image of objects embedded within walls or floors. Based on Cambridge Consultants' proven short range radar expertise, Sprint enables an operator to rapidly form an image of subsurface structures such as pipes and cables, as well as detecting items of interest such as concealed explosives and contraband, revolutionising counter-terrorism and crime prevention search techniques.

Law enforcement and security agencies are constantly facing new challenges as criminals and terrorists look for ever more creative ways to conceal weapons or to smuggle contraband, and the Sprint system has been designed to tackle some of the most challenging threat detection scenarios. The London 2012 Olympics, for example, will be one of the toughest security challenges seen in the UK to date and security services will want to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for potential threats. Sprint can quickly and easily look inside anything from the floor to the roof, and the handheld system can simply be moved across a surface to build a larger picture. With many new buildings and facilities being developed for the 2012 games, this technology could provide a unique and innovative way of ensuring that they are clear of any threat.

Unlike existing transmission x-ray systems, the radar-based Sprint system does not require access to both sides of the object in order to scan inside, and provides an easily interpreted image of the wall structure, something which compact radar systems have previously not provided. This significantly improves its application potential and can enable much quicker deployment in scenarios where speed can be critical.

"Whereas other options, such as backscatter x-rays, are cumbersome, expensive and power hungry systems, and conventional radar systems have been difficult to interpret, Sprint's use of radar and processing technology makes it possible to look inside an opaque object or surface from one side safely, cheaply and quickly in a low power, handheld device," commented Sam Pumphrey, Senior Consultant at Cambridge Consultants.

The prototype Sprint device is the equivalent size of a standard sheet of letter paper and 15cm deep, weighing approximately 3.5kg with batteries. It is a multi-channel system, enabling full synthetic aperture processing, and it uses short pulses of energy with high bandwidth to enable the short range, high resolution imaging required. Other potential applications for the technology include industrial inspection, technical search, counter surveillance and a range of military applications.

Cambridge Consultants is currently conducting extensive performance testing to take Sprint beyond the prototype stage and ready it for future commercialisation.

Sprint has been developed to sit alongside Cambridge Consultants' Prism 200 device. Prism 200 is a handheld through-wall radar, designed to be used by police, special forces or the emergency services. It provides quick and covert intelligence on the movement and location of people in a room or building - without the need for invasive sensors.

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