A video teaching jihadists how to make "invisibility cloaks" in order to escape detection from U.S. drones has been created and released by Al-Qaeda, according to Rt.com.
The widely circulated 16-minute video, called "Combatting Spy Airplanes," features the terrorist group demonstrating how militants can attempt to shield themselves from drones by using aluminum foil and twigs to create an invisibility cloak.
The fighters are first advised to smear a body-sized tarpaulin with glue, before covering it in standard aluminum foil. After applying more glue, the shield should be covered with another tarpaulin.
The home-made cloak apparently manages to shield fighters by restricting a U.S Predator drone's infrared camera from detecting human heat, according to the video, which has largely been compiled from clips of U.S. military public relations.
To receive more protection during the day, the cloak can be further enhanced by painting it with camouflage colors, or by adding tree branches. It can also be easily folded up and carried anywhere, UK MailOnline reported.
Although it is not known if the shield works, the premise is simple enough: if the drone can't detect fighters, it can't kill them.
"The aluminum is supposed to act like a heat barrier, keeping the fighter's body heat from being detected by the drone camera system," according to analysis from the Middle East Research Institute.
However, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which runs military operations on the Arabian Peninsula, has reportedly refused to comment on the "effectiveness or ineffectiveness of specific enemy [tactics]."
For 13 years drone strikes have been ongoing in Yemen, with a number of high ranking Al-Qaeda leaders being taken out by them.
In November 2002, a CIA Predator drone took out Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harthi and five of his comrades by tracking their mobile phone signals. In September 2011, a Hellfire missile killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a charismatic U.S.-born cleric.
The video can be watched here.
