Free The Dust Will Never Settle by Mukul Deva Page B

another nine or ten eager-to-help passers-by. The soldiers reached the crash victim first. This lot was decimated by the forty kilograms of high explosive strapped onto the motorcycle. The fuel tank’s explosion added to the carnage.
    ‘The explosion was so powerful that it was heard miles away, which is what it was supposed to do, since it not only created the diversion for the main assault force, it also triggered the next phase,’ Peled explained.
    While a cloud of motorcycle parts, blood and bones billowed upwards, the security camera caught the three women suddenly pull weapons out of their knapsacks and run forward purposefully.
    ‘All three were wielding Micro Tavor assault rifles.’
    Of Israeli design, with a length of just 23 inches, the MTAR 21 is possibly the shortest 5.56mm assault rifle, shorter even than the Uzi, but more accurate due to its relatively longer barrel.
    They headed straight for the main gate.
    People only became aware of the attack when the terrorist leading the charge hurled a grenade at the security post spanning the main gate.
    ‘It landed behind the sandbags, which ensured the attackers were safe from the shrapnel,’ Peled said, his tone dispassionate. ‘None of the security personnel survived.’
    ‘Charging through the carnage, Raiders One and Two,’ Peled pointed at two women on the screen, ‘headed for the solitary door on the western side that opened into the covered area of the mosque. Meanwhile Raider Three, who had thrown the grenade, continued towards the security post on the west to prevent the guards from interdicting her teammates.’
    It was happening so fast that the security men on that side were caught unawares. All three died.
    ‘Then Raider Three whipped around and headed for the sentries at the next gate on the west.’ Peled traced her path on the screen with a laser pointer.
    The camera footage was grainy, but Ravinder could see her expertly flip her magazine as she ran. She fired at the two security men but one of them managed to put a bullet in her, high on her left shoulder, before he collapsed.
    Ravinder saw her falter briefly. She collected herself, spun around and headed for the next security post. By now the guards were ready to engage. She fell to a hail of bullets. For a moment everyone froze. A soundless explosion spread across the screen. She had triggered the explosive in the camera around her neck. Parts of her body were hurled up and outwards. The amount of explosive was enough to decimate her upper body, which was deliberate, to keep the identities of the attackers obscure.
    ‘Her objective was the same as the woman who had crashed her motorcycle, to provide the primary pair of raiders an opportunity to get into the main mosque.’
    The camera feed switched to show Raiders One and Two racing into the mosque, firing in short, ammunition conserving, two- or three-round bursts, gunning down everyone in their way – tourists, people in prayer and security guards.
    The camera feed switched again, now showing two more women. Raiders Five and Six, emerging from the crowd between the Al Aqsa mosque and the Temple Mount. They ran towards the solitary door on the east, which led into the covered area of the mosque, gunning down everyone in their path.
    The security forces here, however, were on full alert.
    Raider Six fell to a hail of bullets halfway to the mosque. Her final act was to trigger the bomb in the camera slung around her neck. Two bystanders were blown up with her. The chaos created by the explosion allowed Raider Five to slip into the mosque.
    ‘By now three terrorists had penetrated the inner sanctum of the mosque.’
    The screen went black as Peled switched to the feed from the security cameras inside the mosque.
    Raiders One, Two and Five could now be seen selectively rounding up hostages. A majority were Muslims – a deliberate part of the plan. Only two of the fourteen hostages were non-Muslims, both men in their late forties, and