India to seek help from the US to track 'virtual SIMs' used during Pulwama terror attack

The "virtual SIM" that the bomber was using is said to be made by a service provider based in the US.

| Updated: Monday, March 25, 2019, 13:17 [IST]

On February 14, 2019, India saw one of the most harrowing terrorist attacks on its soil. The awful act carried out by the terrorists targeting a military convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district resulted in the death of 40 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel. This gruesome attack has been criticized all over the world and the fight against terrorism has also been strengthened.

US to help India track 'virtual SIMs' used during Pulwama attacks

NIA (National Investigation Agency) probed the attack which suggested that a car that carried over 300KG explosives was collided to the convoy by a suicide bomber. The inquiries revealed that a JeM which is a Pakistan-based militant group was the brains behind the attack. Now, some recent developments have revealed that the militants could have used "virtual SIMs" to carry out the attack in Pulwama.

As per a report from PTI, the Indian central security agencies along with the Jammu and Kashmir police had carried out searches in the areas close to the attack including an encounter site in Tral and some other locations. It was revealed that the suicide bomber had been in touch with the other militants from JeM before the strike was carried out using a "virtual SIM".

The "virtual SIM" that the bomber was using is said to be made by a service provider based in the US. The primary function of the virtual SIM is that a computer generates a telephone number using which a user can download applications of a service provider on their phone. The same number can be used for third-party instant messaging and social media apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram. The setup is complete when the user receives a verification code and completes the registration process on the aforementioned apps.

The Pulwama attack suicide bomber was in contact with Mudassir Khan, the Jaish handler using the virtual SIMs. The phone numbers that he used came with "+1" pre-fixed which is a code for MSISDN (Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number) used in the United States.

Now, India has sent a request to the US in order to find out the details of the numbers that were in touch with the "Virtual SIM" used by the bomber. The security agencies over there will now try to look for the person who had paid for the SIM and will try to make the connections with the attack.