Experts suggest strict monitoring to check sale of ingredients
by Shariful Islam and Mohammad Jamil Khan in The Daily Star, July 9, 2017
The deadly explosive triacetone triperoxide or TATP, used by terrorists in Paris, Brussels and London attacks, has of late become “Neo JMB” militants’ explosive of choice in Bangladesh, say bomb experts.
The experts said they had found evidence of its use in militant dens in Rajshahi, Jhenidah and Moulvibazar.
The trace of the easy-to-make TATP, known as “the mother of Satan”, was found in surgical belts militants use these days instead of suicide belts, and in other bombs.
It is made using hydrogen peroxide, which is found in products like floor washer, ear cleaner and furniture polish, said the experts.
Acetone, another necessary ingredient, can be drawn from nail polish remover and some other beauty products, said an official of the bomb disposal team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
He also said some acid needed for making the explosive could easily be found in batteries.
Md Moniruzzaman, assistant inspector general (confidential) at Police Headquarters, told The Daily Star that militants were using TATP and different household products to make bombs.
Despite the risks involved in handling TATP, “Neo JMB” militants use it for several reasons: their supply of gel explosives from a neighbouring country had been cut off by law enforcers; TATP can be prepared with ingredients of some products available in shopping malls; most scanners cannot detect its presence and its destructive capacity is huge, said another official wishing anonymity.
“Only 300gm of TATP can kill everyone in a 10-meter radius,” said the explosive expert.
Militants now put TATP in surgical belts to maximise the impact of explosions, he said. Local militants earlier used to put grenades in their suicide vests. The CTTC chief Monirul Islam suggested strict monitoring on the sales and uses of chemicals being used to make explosives.
The sugar-like, white, crystalline explosive is very risky to handle. The slightest bit of heat or the mild shaking is enough to cause an explosion. The substance is highly unstable and reacts violently to physical hits or friction, experts said.
According to international media reports, TATP was used in terrorist attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016, in Paris on November 13, 2015 and in London on July 7, 2005.
Nisharul Arif, additional deputy inspector general of Rajshahi Range police, recently said they found three surgical belts containing TATP at a militant hideout in Rajshahi’s Tanore during a raid on June 12.
He added that several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) containing TATP were found in a cooking pot in the two-storey earthen house at Dangapara of Tanore, some 40km from Rajshahi city.
Using such a powerful explosive in belts is a new phenomenon. An advantage of using the surgical belts is that people are likely to mistake a suicide bomber for a patient.
As smuggling detonators from India became difficult since police arrested a group of “Neo JMB” men, who supplied the explosives used in Holey Artisan Bakery, a couple of months ago, the militants learnt how to make plastic detonators by using a syringe in suicide belts, explosive experts believe.
Huge stashes of explosive materials including TATP and plastic detonators were found in recently busted dens in Jhenidah and Chapainawabganj. http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/tatp-neo-jmbs-explosive-choice-1430398
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