Posted on 08/03/2005 6:45:05 PM PDT by LibWhacker
NEW YORK -- The suicide bombers cooked up their explosives using mundane items like hydrogen peroxide. They stored them in a fancy commercial refrigerator that was out of place in their grimy flat. And cell phones likely were used to set them off.
Those details from the July 7 London bombing emerged on Wednesday at an unusually wide-ranging briefing given by the New York Police Department to city business leaders.
The briefing -- based partly on information obtained by NYPD detectives who were dispatched to London to monitor the investigation -- was part of a program designed to encourage more vigilance by private security at large hotels, Wall Street firms, storage facilities and other companies.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly warned the materials and methods used in the London attack were easily adaptable to New York.
"Initially it was thought that perhaps the materials were high-end military explosives that were smuggled, but it turns out not to be the case," Kelly said. "It's more like these terrorists went to a hardware store or some beauty supply store."
The NYPD officials said investigators believe the bombers used a peroxide-based explosive called HMDT, or hexamethylene triperoxide diamine. HMDT can be made using ordinary ingredients like hydrogen peroxide (hair bleach), citric acid (a common food preservative) and heat tablets (sometimes used by the military for cooking).
HMDT degrades at room temperature, so the bombers preserved it in a way that offered an early warning sign, said Michael Sheehan, deputy commissioner of counterterrorism at the nation's largest police department.
"In the flophouse where this was built in Leeds, they had commercial grade refrigerators to keep the materials cool," Sheehan said, describing the setup as "an indicator of a problem."
Among the other details cited by the NYPD officials:
-- The bombers transported the explosives in beverage coolers tucked in the backs of two cars to the outskirts of London.
-- Investigators believe the three bombs that exploded in the subway were detonated by cell phones that had alarms set to 8:50 a.m.
-- Similar "explosive compounds" were used in the attempted attack in London on July 21. However, the detonators were hand-activated, not timed.
Sheehan said the NYPD was troubled by information it had received about the bombers' links to "organizations," but he did not name any groups.
"We know those same types of organizations that they're affiliated with are very much present in New York City," he said. "That's something we're studying very, very carefully. ... This could happen here."
After the briefing, police spokesman Paul Browne said the department had clearance from British authorities to present the information about the July 7 attack, which killed 52 people.
The session at police headquarters in lower Manhattan was attended by officials from police departments and law enforcement agencies in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and other jurisdictions. The officials were in the city discussing plans to beef up security along Amtrak's New York-Washington route.
OK, so how many seconds before some pompous ass shows up to tell us we sheeple are better off not knowing this kind of thing?
But this is different from what has been said publicly by the Brits. They said that the 4 guys on 7 July drove from Leeds to Luton, then took the train to London wearing their backpacks, and then got on four different tube trains. When did they have the chance to get the explosives out of the car? Perhaps between getting off the train at Kings Cross, and getting on the tube?
If they were cell phone activated by setting a timer, did the 4 guys know what was going to happen, and when? Were they really suicide bombers, or just dupes? And the 4th guy's bomb didn't go off until an hour or so later, on the bus, not on the tube.
There are still lots of inconsistencies here! And a ringleader still on the loose?
But this is different from what has been said publicly by the Brits. They said that the 4 guys on 7 July drove from Leeds to Luton, then took the train to London wearing their backpacks, and then got on four different tube trains. When did they have the chance to get the explosives out of the car? Perhaps between getting off the train at Kings Cross, and getting on the tube?
If they were cell phone activated by setting a timer, did the 4 guys know what was going to happen, and when? Were they really suicide bombers, or just dupes? And the 4th guy's bomb didn't go off until an hour or so later, on the bus, not on the tube.
There are still lots of inconsistencies here! And a ringleader still on the loose?
bttt
You have asked the 64 dollar question. These guys weren't suiciders. They thought they would leave the bombs and scoot. Their controllers know that other than the bombings themselves, the thing that pops out at the Brits would be that there are suicide bombers living right in the UK, leading ordinary lives.So these guys were murderers, but I don't think they had the foggiest thought about joining the vics in the morgue.
Pinger
We need an automated cell phone system that rings every cell phone by random and different times. That would keep potential bombers on their toes.
"There are still lots of inconsistencies here! "
You're tellin' me.
First, there were "military-grade timers" used in the bombs. Then we're told that this was a suicide bombing mission, which would completely eliminate the need to waste high-grade military timers, when you have some lackey willing to push the button himself. Now, we're told "cell phone activators". Why would suicide bombers need cell phone activators?
Also, it was 'high-grade military explosives', possibly from some eastern European hellhole. Now it's guys mixing hydro peroxide.
WTH?
What is with cell phones used as timers? I recall that the Madrid bombers also employed cell phones as timers (and one of the bombs was a dud, which led to the cell phone shop and thence to the bombers).
Is it really that much easier to use a cell phone's alarm than that of a cheaper timer? They could always emulate George Metesky and use a wind up clock, but those go tick-tick-tick, and timer technology has progressed since the fifties. But why a cell phone if you aren't going to use its remote control capability (which would be unreliable underground). Maybe the wiring is just easier.
Why didn't they just publish the exact formula while they were at it? /sarc
"We know those same types of organizations that they're affiliated with are very much present in New York City," he said. "That's something we're studying very, very carefully. ... This could happen here."
So why do they still exist?
The next insider information or police spokesman will have em making something else next week......This is the third report and third kind of explosive reported........
Or maybe some new arrogant guy shooting off his mouth
Political correctness and a lack of hard evidence, IMHO.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
I think they're using that nasty Pali recipe that's heavy on peroxide. One guess is that the 7-21 bombers botched the cooking and they squibbed.
Accurracy, they are all synced to a master clock by necessity of the way they work. Second, you can always override by calling the cell phone, just in case the carrier gets cold feet. Perhaps that is what happened with the 7-7 bus bomber?
Yep TATP......
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