Peroxide Explosives
he recent indictment of three and technologies that are currently 50; the suicide bombing in the Jerusalem
T
native Afghan citizens in deployed at airport checkpoints for the Sbarro pizzeria in 9th August 2001, with
Colorado and New York on detection of conventional explosives 15 killed and dozens wounded; the two
federal charges of conspiracy cannot detect the peroxides (vide infra). truck bombs outside Istanbul
to detonate bombs made of The long and bloody trail of terror attacks synagogues on 15th November 2003,
TriAcetoneTriPeroxide (TATP) involving TATP (and other peroxides) which killed 27 and injured 300; the two
in a possible al-Qaeda-linked bomb plot started neither with the widely covered suicide truck bombings at the Istanbul
in the United States, resumed much events of the aforementioned London HSBC Bank and the British Consulate on
public interest in this homemade attacks, nor the failed liquid explosives plot 20th November 2003, killing 30,
explosive. The main suspect, Najibullah to destroy seven jetliners in mid-air en- including Consul General Roger Short,
Zazi, allegedly purchased large route from the United Kingdom to North and wounding 400; the two London car
quantities of hydrogen peroxide from America in August 2006, nor with the failed bombs in July 1994 outside the Israeli
beauty supply stores in the Denver area attempt by Richard Reid, the so-called embassy and a Jewish Philanthropic
along with acetone and hydrochloric acid, “Shoe-Bomber”, to bring down a Institution; and, from an aviation
all being essential ingredients for the passenger aircraft en-route from Paris to perspective, the explosion carried out by
preparation of TATP. Miami on 22nd December 2001. This Ramzi Youssef on 11th December 1994
The striking similarities between this blood-spattered history started with the onboard Philippines Airlines flight 434 to
intercepted Colorado case and the 7th rather innocent discovery of TATP in 1895 Japan. Fortunately, many tens of other
July 2005 (7/7) London bombings (as by the German chemist, Richard attacks were successfully intercepted by
well as the failed plot of 21st July 2005) Wolffenstein, who didn’t even understand the early detection of either the explosive
indicate that Mr. Zazi and his colleagues why his new compound exhibited explosive laboratory or the already prepared IED.
may have been planning a copycat of properties. Nevertheless, TATP, which is
those attacks. Like the UK terrorists, Zazi approximately 80% as powerful as an
also travelled to Northern Pakistan to equivalent weight of TNT, has not been “...unlike all conventional
TATP receive al-Qaeda’s training in improvised adopted for military or other commercial
explosives. Apparently, his target was the uses because of its instability. Thus, the explosives, TATP does
New York’s transit systems, mimicking compound was almost forgotten until the
the successful attacks in London and late 1960s when the Russian secret not release heat during
also those on the Madrid trains on 11th service became interested in the
March 2004. Based on the amounts of compound and its applications. its detonation...”
hydrogen peroxide that Zazi had The Russian agents recognised the
purchased in the free market, according benefits of using TATP for terror attacks and An Unusual Explosive
to FBI sources, I estimate that he could transferred this know-how to Palestinian For more than two decades the Technion
produce approximately twice the amount terrorist organisations in Jordan. From there, laboratories in Haifa have been involved
of TATP than was used on 7/7 by the the technology has spread worldwide to in various research projects on peroxide
London terrorists. almost any terror group and like-minded explosives. The studies have revealed
individuals. The very first appearance of that, from almost every possible aspect,
The Threat and Its History TATP as an explosive in a terrorist attack these improvised explosives exhibit
The peroxide explosives, including TATP, occurred in May 1980 in the city of Hebron, properties that are very different from
DiAcetoneDiPeroxide (DADP), on the West Bank, where the material was those of the conventional explosives,
HexaMethyleneTriperoxideDiamine used in the production of pipe bombs. The which are used for military and civil
(HMTD) and other variants, represent a instability of TATP, which has been the cause purposes. For example, to our great
growing challenge to homeland security. of many "work accidents" that ended the surprise, we discovered that, unlike all
These explosives are rapidly becoming a lives of more than 40 "engineers" in Islamic conventional explosives, TATP does not
preferred choice by various terrorist militant organisations, has led to dubbing release heat during its detonation. It
organisations and individuals worldwide TATP as being "the Mother of Satan". explodes by rapid decomposition of every
for four major reasons. First, these Over the past three decades, since the solid-state molecule to four gas-phase
explosives can be prepared very easily Hebron event, many of the devastating molecules. This rare phenomenon,
even by untrained and unorganised suicide attacks carried out by terrorists in scientifically known as ‘Entropic
terrorists using procedures that are the Middle East, and in other parts of the Explosion’, is reminiscent of the rapid
readily available on the Internet. Second, world, have involved TATP. Notable reaction that produces gas in the safety
the raw materials for their preparation entries in this long list include the attack airbags of cars during an accident. These
are inexpensive, easily available in the on the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium discotheque results, which were published in 2005 in
free market in retail and even in bulk by a suicide bomber on 1st June 2001, the Journal of the American Chemical
quantities. Third, these highly sensitive killing 21 and injuring more than 100; Society, were based on a computational
explosives, which can be initiated by a the double suicide bombing in a study that was carried out in
spark, minor friction or impact, can serve Jerusalem pedestrian mall on 1st collaboration between scientists of the
as detonator, booster and main charge December 2001, causing 10 deaths and Technion and the Hebrew University of
for the preparation of improvised over 170 injuries; the suicide bombing on Jerusalem. The scientific community of
explosive devices (IEDs). Fourth, and a Haifa bus on 2nd December 2001, energetic materials received these
most significantly, the standard methods which killed 15 and injured more than results with much surprise and
Aviationsecurityinternational October 2009 www.asi-mag.com 11
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