London bombs made from ingredients bought at local Chemists

[fedsron2us]

A week after the Prime Minister told the House of Commons that the London bombs were made of 'miltary grade' explosives the BBC are reporting that materials found in Leeds suggest that they were constructed using chemicals available in any High Street chemists. They are said to be similar to those used in other Al Qaeda attacks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4684869.stm

It would appear that despite thirty five years experience of dealing with IRA attacks the British forensic teams initial conclusions were wrong. The article does not specify which other Al Qaeda attacks this type of device was used. It can not be Madrid because those bombs used Goma-2 which is a commercial explosive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goma-2

Presumably, they do not mean the Istanbul bombs either because those were made using the fertiliser ammonium nitrate.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/14/world/main611898.shtml

The only Al Qaeda bomber who appears to have used actone peroxide is Richard Reid the shoe bomber.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone_peroxide

This stuff is very unstable and even professional chemists are wary of using it. You would have to possess suicidal tendencies even to want to carry it and most terror groups such as the IRA avoid it completely.

I suppose this announcement will get the intelligence agencies off the hook.

nb - (the wikipedia has been very quick to add the link between its article on acetone peroxide to the London bombings)

[non sociopath skin]

1. So did the "Outsider Mastermind" for whom the police are looking ...

... have no more expertise than this? Seems the sort of gen you could get from Loony Left, Loony Right or Dem Ole Time Religion sites on the Net.

The Skin

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. It seems to suggest the "inspired by Al-Qaeda" theory

than direct Al-Qaeda involvement. I'll just wait and see, the police seem to be changing their mind a lot and may do so again.

The "outsider mastermind" could be a red herring. He may have just been someone who read up on the nuttier sites on the internet (for bomb expertise) and presented himself to the young perspective bombers as "mister big-shot from Al-Qaeda". Though, I speculate.

[fedsron2us]

3. TATP can be used to make a type of DIY plastic explosive

It gives more destructive energy power per pound than most other materials used by your average amateur bomb maker such as the fertiliser ammonium nitrate. It would explain why the bombs used in London were so powerful for their small size. However, it is not very stable thus its nickname the 'Mother of Satan'. You would not want to be living anywhere near the place where they are making this stuff because there is a very high possibility that it would detonate prematurely. There is no surprise that an Egyptian studying for a PhD in Chemistry seems to have been involved in the preparation for this attack.

On edit - This finding completely contradicts what the French anti-terror expert said last week after attending an intelligence briefing in London.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050711/ts_nm/security_britain_intelligence_dc_1

I have to confess that I am finding this very hard to follow. For example, what has happened to 'Schizophrenic Elvis Presley fan Ejaz Fiaz'. He no longer appears to be the fourth bomber.

http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1085108

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Yes, the involvement (or not) of Fiaz is strange

When they did the orginal house raids, they said one man, a relative, had been arrested - and that was Ejaz Fiaz's brother. He's still being held. So is Fiaz involved, or is he the innocent one who moved away with his girlfriend/wife (and maybe 2 children)?

And strangely, Mohammed Sidique Khan was originally called 'Rashid Facha' in news reports - Google the name, and you'll find the details of his life in Dewsbury are identical.

[wakeme2008]

5. How about your local grocery store. :)

First a bio on Andy McNab.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Andy_McNab.htm

Andy McNab joined the infantry as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was 'badged' as a member of 22 SAS Regiment and was involved in both covert and overt special operations worldwide. During the Gulf War he commanded Bravo Two Zero, a patrol that, in the words of his commanding officer, 'will remain in regimental history for ever'. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He wrote about his experiences in two phenomenal bestsellers, Bravo Two Zero, which was filmed in 1998 starring Sean Bean, and Immediate Action.

Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK.

If you enjoy military books his
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0440218802.01._PIdp-schmooS,TopRight,7,-26_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

is a must read... OK maybe a trip into Iraq with each man carrying 211 lbs of gear is not a normal walk in the park :)

Anyway, Andy has written a number of fiction books about a retire SAS operative. In one of the books he talks about going to a grocery store and getting the things to make a bomb... I am still trying to guess what he picked out on the "Spice" shelf. :wow:

[D-Notice]

6. Time for a clamp-down

on Boots methinks ;-)

[fedsron2us]

7. I note that the impartiality of the Wikipedia article

on acetone peroxide has recently been challenged with respect to the linking of this substance to the London bombings. The original news story I saw on this subject was posted by the BBC on its web site at about 0630 this morning. When I wrote my original piece on the DU at about 0830 today the link between this substance and the London bombings had already been placed in the Wikipedia. The speed with which it was updated with this news did surprise me.

[fedsron2us]

8. TATP is suicide bombers' weapon of choice

More on this topic from the Times

As one British explosives expert said today of the news that TATP was involved in the four London blasts: "Frankly, I wouldn't like to be wandering around with 10lb of TATP on my back."

That expert suggested that TATP - which does not need sophisticated detonating devices - might have been used only as the trigger for the London bombs, but it could have been the main explosive. "It would be surprising, but then the Jihadis, and al-Qaeda, are always capable of surprising us," he added.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1695442,00.html

It appears, contrary to what I have read in some press articles, Richard Reid's shoe bomb was mainly made up of the Plastic Explosive PETN. TATP only formed part up of the ignition assembly of the device

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/10/inv.shoe.bomber/

It looks as though the claims that the bombs are entirely home made may not be correct. The TATP could have been used just to build the detonators. If these were acetone peroxide bombs then those carrying them were very lucky to survive the car and train journey to London without them going off prematurely.