Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
driven erratically. At approximately 8:10
A
.
M
., the red Civic caught up to
the Nissan, cut it off, and forced it to stop One or two assailants, armed
with AK-47 assault rifles, exited the Civic and first killed the driver by
firing through the windshield. The driver's murder ensured that the vehi-
cle would not be able to escape. The terrorists then moved to the sides of
the Nissan and executed the four Americans by firing through the win-
dows. A third assailant may have been firing from inside the Civic.
There can be no doubt that the four employees of UTP had been
under surveillance before the attack. While the reported account of this
incident says nothing about such surveillance, it is inconceivable that such
an attack could have been planned and executed without the gathering of
prior intelligence through physical surveillance. Apparently neither the
driver of the Nissan nor the four UTP employees detected the presence
of that surveillance. Chapter 10 discusses how to determine whether you
are under surveillance as well as countersurveillance measures at length.
Another security lapse was the failure of the driver and his passengers
to vary their patterns of travel by altering the route they took and their
times of travel. No effort was made to avoid predictability, in violation of
rule 6. In addition to the violation of several vehicle-related security rules,
other mistakes were made. The first and most easily correctable mistake
would have been to use a properly armored vehicle while transporting
employees in a high-risk area like Karachi. Information relative to the
selection and use of such armored vehicles is provided in Chapter 9. It is
sufficient for this discussion, however, to note that a properly armored
vehicle could have provided sufficient protection against the 7.62
39
mm rifle rounds fired by the terrorists. In addition, a properly trained
driver would have measurably increased the chances that this attack could
have been prevented. Numerous EVOC and antiterrorist driving courses
teach a variety of specific techniques to use while operating an armored
vehicle; such courses are designed to defeat this type of assault. Proper
observational skills are taught during the antiterror phase of such train-
ing, which is invaluable. In addition, the courses also teach how to defeat
a vehicular roadblock. Defeating a roadblock is not a difficult thing to
learn during hands-on instruction. All you need is a vehicle of sufficient
weight and enough room to generate some speed. In the case being exam-
ined, we have a four-door station wagon being blocked by a Honda Civic.
If you are alert and the blocking vehicles are not well positioned, you
may be able to escape the ambush. Keep in mind that you can learn how
to perform this type of maneuver in any professional antiterrorist driving
