Taliban claim to debut new bomb 'Omar'

(AFP) – 4 hours ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban claimed Tuesday to have developed a new bomb nicknamed Omar after their fugitive leader and which they say is impossible Western mine sweepers to detect.

The biggest killer of Western troops in Afghanistan are home-made bombs, known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs, which the Taliban deploy to wide effect in their eight-year insurgency and detonate by remote control.

Western military intelligence officials have said most foreign troop deaths, which hit a record 520 last year, are caused by IEDs.

But the Taliban claimed -- ahead of a major assault by foreign troops on the southern Taliban stronghold of Helmand province -- to have created a new IED using materials that make them undetectable.

The militia, which is leading an insurgency to bring down the Western-backed Afghan government and evict foreign troops, routinely exaggerates its claims.

The network's spokesman, who identified himself as Yousuf Ahmadi, said the new bomb had been named after Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahed, believed to be based in Pakistan.

"Omar is our latest weapon in the war against the invaders," he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"It's a very effective bomb, it can't be detected by mine-sweeping vehicles and it causes more deaths," he said.

He refused to provide more details, saying "it's our military secret" but added that each Omar cost around 100 dollars to make.

"With a 100-dollar mine we are able to destroy the enemy's multi-million-dollar anti-mine vehicles," he claimed, referring to heavily armoured vehicles used in Afghanistan by US and other NATO troops.

Ahamdi charged the "Omar bomb" had already been used in attacks on Western forces, but his claim could not be verified immediately.

Around 113,000 foreign troops are deployed to Afghanistan under US and NATO command fighting a Taliban insurgency that increasingly relies on IEDs and suicide bomb attacks as its tactics have morphed into guerilla warfare.

So far this year 62 foreign soldiers have died in the Afghan theatre, according to an AFP tally based on the independent icasualties.org website.

Not new news to be honest Low metal content pressure pads have been used in the past, plastic parts on the pressure pad, graphite contacts etc, the only major part that becomes a problem for them to hide is the battery

Its amazing what you can make when you think about it

So they're using something that creates electricity when two liquids mix?

Sounds very futuristic I'm sure its possible to get these chemicals for that price, I wonder which chemical producing country is providing that then?