JeM fired steel-core bullets which can pierce body armour. The rounds proved fatal for one CRPF personnel as the bullet pierced his bulletproof shield. The bullets used in the Pulwama attack are undergoing more forensic tests now

The three Jaish-e-Mohammed fedayeen members who stormed the CRPF camp with Kalashnikovs and grenades in Lethpora village of Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday fired steel-core bullets, which can pierce body armour. Such bullets have been used by terrorists for the first time in India.

The rounds proved fatal for one CRPF personnel as the bullet pierced his bulletproof shield.

"The bullet pierced the shield and hit him. Though the CRPF personnel killed the attacker, we lost one man," Ravideep Sahi, CRPF Inspector General told India Today.

The hardened steel penetrator, encased usually in a copper jacket, in such bullets is a pointed mass of high-density material which retains its shape and strikes the target with maximum energy.

The CRPF personnel were surprised when the bullets penetrated the heavy metal bunker vehicle, widely used during such encounters.

In fact, one of the bullets penetrated the bulletproof Gypsy of the Assistant Commandant hitting a CRPF personnel.

"Yes, our Assistant Commandant was in his vehicle when the terrorists fired at it outside the camp," said RR Bhatnagar, Director General, CRPF.

While Bhatnagar did not deny encountering a new problem, he is confident in the CRPF's fighting capability. "This will have an impact, but our men fight professionally."

The bullets used in the Pulwama attack, which are undergoing forensic tests outside the state, have set alarm bells ringing in the security establishment.

"It is a problematic situation. We will carefully analyse the forensic results and take action," a top J&K police officer told India Today requesting anonymity.

The use of armour-piercing rounds by terrorists could be a major security nightmare as several VIPS use bulletproof vehicles.

In 2015, the Obama administration scrapped a ban on armour-piercing bullets in the face of fierce opposition by gun owners, lobbyists and members of the Congress.

The green tip bullets can easily pierce the light body armour used by the American police.

The Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act, 1986, makes the import, distribution and manufacture of armour-piercing ammunition illegal unless primarily intended for sporting purposes.