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`Hellbrew' is cheap, simple to make
In the Middle East, they call it Hellbrew.
In Tennessee they call it 'moonshine'.
British police are now saying the 24 alleged bombers arrested in Britain yesterday were probably planning to use a homemade, peroxide-based liquid to blow up the 10 U.S.-bound planes they had targeted.

John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Canadian think-tank on organized violence, said he's pretty sure he recognizes which solution the terrorists had in mind. "Triacetone triperoxide was the weapon of choice for the Palestinians during the second intifada. It's the preferred weapon for a lot of jihadists," said Thompson, who's been studying terrorist bomb-making techniques for over 20 years. "It's really powerful for its weight, so it's used a lot in suicide bombers' vests."

Anyone with half an hour, a set of instructions found online and about $75 can easily make the stuff. "You could make it in your kitchen," said Prof. Bhibou Mohanty, an explosives expert at the University of Toronto.

Mohanty said the major ingredients are peroxide, which is found in hair bleach, and acetone, which is found in most types of paint. Mix them in the right quantities, use some aluminium powder to increase potency — and you've got yourself a ready-made bomb.

The compound has advantages beyond its simple makeup. For instance, said Mohanty, it's really easy to get it to explode. "It can be ignited, as opposed to detonated," he said. That means that a simple match or lighter would be enough to start an explosion.
Or any simple electronic device with a current. You could pull a battery out of a cheap radio, clip on a couple wires, and voila.
Because it's a liquid, it can be stored in places where airport security officials might not look. Thompson said just a small eyedrop container could hold enough of the solution (properly mixed, of course) to bring down an aircraft.
I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. But since hair bleach and nail polish will do, the security nightmare is easy to see.
British police have not confirmed the use of a peroxide-based solution. All they know for sure so far is that the explosives came in liquid form. So in theory, there's still a whole range of possibilities as to what the bombers planned to use. Thompson said there are lots of ways to make a cheap liquid bomb. The only common denominator is that just about anyone can do it.
Posted by: Steve White 2006-08-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=162668