I will let our legion of military experts tell us about this substance, what can it do with the amount stuffed in this guy's shoe?

I have heard some of this stuff could blow a hole the size of a truck to drive through.

This was with six or seven ounces of Semtex, apparently.

How much did he have in his shoes? Didn't I hear 10 oz. somewhere? That doesn't sound like much, but I hear this stuff is powerful.

Do you think the stash in the Philly transit locker of C-4 is the last of it?

I'll bet every train, bus station and mailbox place in this country is being swept by bomb sniffing dogs.

Semtex,if memory serves was made by Omnipol which was the Czech explosives company.It was actually controlled by the KGB.After the fall of Communism,the Czech govt agreed to add a substance to sentex that would make it smell like rotten fish for security reasons.It was thought that the smell would be detectable.C4 is a US Army creation,I believe.I cant think of a reason to mix the two.

Czechs resume Semtex exports

The on-again, off-again export of the general-purpose plastic explosive Semtex, manufactured in Czechoslovakia during the height of the Cold War and linked to terrorist groups around the world, is scheduled to resume.

The Czech Republic recently announced that exports were beginning to selected countries. The first Semtex shipment under the resumed exports will reportedly go to the British Defense Ministry. Czech reporting suggests that the British authorities intend to run experiments on the explosive that is often used by Irish Republican Army terrorists—including the October 1993 destruction of a building in Belfast. According to the 1991 international convention signed in Montreal, Semtex intended for industrial applications is to be a bright red-orange color and detectable by security-monitoring equipment.

Variants of the explosive produced for civilian purposes are also less powerful than the nearly odorless version that became a favorite weapon of terrorists. Despite this and the export ban that had earlier been in place, Semtex continues to be smuggled across borders. Substantial quantities of the explosive have been stolen from industrial enterprises in the Czech and Slovak republics for sale on the black market.

Shortly before the most recent ban was lifted, Czech police seized 100 kilograms of industrial Semtex from a group of Czech citizens who were planning its illegal sale abroad. In Slovakia last October, some 900 kilograms of the explosive were stolen from the warehouse of a private firm, together with more than 2,000 detonators. Czech officials candidly admit that they have no idea how much Semtex has been stolen or illegally diverted, and the continued black market trade in the explosive seems certain.

Do you think the stash in the Philly transit locker of C-4 is the last of it?

I've read that al-Qaeda used 600 lbs of this stuff for the Cole bombing, so, yeah, they probably have quite a bit left.

OKAY. Given he was positioned right over the fuel tank area, we conclude that he intended to blow up the aircraft by blowing the fuel taknks using the explosives in his shoes. The scenario makes perfect sense.Should we not demand a re-look into this possible scenario on TWA-800?!

If this punk is actually as British national, I wonder if MI5 had him under surveillance at many of the mosques in West London, Leicester and Birmingham that have been known fronts for Al Queda.A nobody just doesn't walk into a Sainsbury in Kilburn,London and buy a pack of Semtex, which was also the weapon of choice for Pan Am 103.

cant think of a reason to mix the two.

Semtex and C-4 are essentially the same thing.

I know nothing about explosives, but heard a talk show caller today say that the explosive could not have been detonated the way he was trying to do it. He would have needed blasting caps. Anyone have any better knowledge about this?

I know nothing about explosives, but heard a talk show caller today say that the explosive could not have been detonated the way he was trying to do it. He would have needed blasting caps. Anyone have any better knowledge about this?

Thats what I thought too.As sinister as he looks,he turned out to be quite the boob.

It is possible that this 'home brew' of C4 doesn't have the scent that would make it detectible to authorities.

Next time a get on a plane I am smelling for rotten fish, although it might be difficult with the meals that are served on board.

Someone was saying that the guy tried to do it another way first and then went to the matches, knowing he would be noticed.

I would be checking that passanger manifest for the flight in Rockaway for new or suspicious passports not from the Dominican Republic.

Im also under the impression that there is still a lot of the KGB controlled stuff still around.Semtex and C4 is what they check for at the airport when they take that little pad and wipe it around the handles of your carryon.And Im trying to confirm the rotten fish angle.I think,but Im not sure,it might have been a concession to get into NATO.

>> talk show caller today say that the explosive could not have been detonated

FBI spokesman I heard on TV said it was possible to detonate it as the shoe bamber had it configured. A match to lite the fuse was all that was needed. I don't know for sure, but this is what the FBI agent said.

snooker

Someone was saying that the guy tried to do it another way first and then went to the matches, knowing he would be noticed.

So he pushed the little button and then said "Darn it, I'm still here" and reached for a match?

I know nothing about explosives, but heard a talk show caller today say that the explosive could not have been detonated the way he was trying to do it. He would have needed blasting caps. Anyone have any better knowledge about this?

It is true that you need blasting caps, but I have seen nothing to indicate that a blasting cap wasn't use. Blasting caps that have been crimped with regular old time fuse are often preferred for a number of operations, and he could have been using the same.

I think it was 200 grams. So about 5 and a half ounces,yes? Hmmm... after seeing those photos above, i think plenty to do some major damage. But lighting it? I thought you could pound on c4 or semtex, light it, etc.... i thought it was only an electircal charge that sets it off. Anybody know?

Wow, powerful stuff!

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