'Nitrate used in the Varanasi blast'

A week after the blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi, forensic experts have established that the Indian Mujahideen (IM), the suspected perpetrator, had used a Nitrate-based Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

A week after the blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi, forensic experts have established that the Indian Mujahideen (IM), the suspected perpetrator, had used a Nitrate-based Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

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"It's determined that Nitrate was used in the blast in Varanasi. But Nitrate has commercial usage, it is yet to be ascertained from where they got it," said a senior counter-terror officer under condition of anonymity. The nature of the explosive device used in the terror attack has baffled investigators, as they could not recover, from the blast site, the essential components of a typical IED: a detonator, circuit and timer.

The September 19 attack and the Varanasi blast indicate a change in tactic of the IM that instead of focusing on killing maximum people, the priority, was to deliver its message, said the investigator.