Pakistanis use thermal camouflage suits to carry out surprise attacks on Indian forces

In a bid to avoid detection, the Pakistan army is dressing its personnel in thermal camouflage suits while carrying out attacks on Indian security forces. This strategy was used to kill a Border Security Force constable who was manning a forward post along the border, security officials said.

On May 18, constable Sitaram Yadav, 28 of the 192nd battalion of the BSF was killed. An injury to his left ultimately caused his death. This new modus operandi by the Pakistan army has left the Indian forces worried and news plans are afloat to avoid such situations.

Investigations show that it was a Pakistan sniper who shot the constable. The precision with which the attack was carried out suggests that it was the doing of a sniper, officials also said. The scrutiny of the footage from a hand held thermal imager suggests that the constable was shot from close range. It is however being ascertained whether the sniper belonged to the Pakistan army or was a terrorist.

The footage showed a "very-grained black shadow like movement" which came close to BSF post and took a head-shot at Yadav, officials told PTI.

What is worrisome is that the thermal-imager could not clearly identify the perpetrator as he is suspected to have worn a "thermal camouflage suit", which traps the body heat of the person wearing it, allowing them to evade thermal imaging devices.

"The electronic surveillance of the incident is being analysed and nothing can be ruled out. It could be a new camouflage overall that the Pakistani side is using to take a close aim and hit Indian troops at the border or it could also be an indigenous way of wearing a wet-sack like clothing to evade the HHTI radar," a senior officer in the security establishment said.

Such thermal camouflage are available across the world and are used to carry out tactical and surprise attacks on the enemy. Indian security officials believe that such technology is being used by both the Pakistan army and its terrorists to avoid detection and carry out stealth attacks.