Aug 10, 2006 11:13 pm US/Pacific
In Perspective: The 'Liquid Bomb'
What Terrorists Planned To Use In Foiled Airline Plot
(CBS 5)
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The compound triacetone triperoxide (TATP) was used in the London bombings last July.
APTN
British police say they thwarted a terrorist plot, possibly just days away, to blow up U.S.-bound jetliners over the Atlantic and kill thousands.
Chilling accounts leaked by investigators described a plan on the scale of Sept. 11 that would use liquid explosives concealed as sports drink bottles and common electronic devices to bring down as many as 10 planes in a nearly simultaneous strike.
The bombs were to be assembled on the aircraft apparently using a peroxide-based solution detonated by such devices as a disposable camera or a music player, two American law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Britain asked that no information be released.
A top explosives expert told AP Television on Thursday that he believed the compound was triacetone triperoxide or TATP, which was used in the London bombings last July.
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Poll: Do You Feel Safe Flying?Professor Ehud Keinon of the Technion research institute in Haifa, Israel, said TATP costs virtually nothing to produce, and uses material that can easily be bought in supermarkets and pharmacies.
"With TATP and similar compounds, you don't need anything. You don't even need money. You just buy what you need in the supermarket for a few dollars, and make it," Keinon said.
Unlike conventional solid explosives, liquid chemical compounds such as TATP don't need detonators or boosters.
He described TATP as a "vicious" explosive, and to make his point, he set off a small fireball by putting a lighted cigarette to some TATP crystals.
"It's so dangerous because you don't need anything specific like a fuse, detonators or booster, as you need for a regular conventional explosive. You just have to touch it with a cigarette or a match. That's it. It's a very sensitive explosive, and very powerful, very vicious," he said.
Keinon said international airports currently have no way of detecting if would-be suicide bombers are carrying TATP or similar explosive compounds.
However, Keinon's company, Acro Security, is developing a device called the Peroxide Explosive Tester (PET).
The device resembles a three-color pen and works by releasing three chemical mixtures that change color if they come into contact with a liquid explosive.
Keinon says the device will be launched next month.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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