Not sure exactly how it works, but IIRC, there is an explosion, just not as big as would normally be the case. And yes, the shelf life in a binary weapon is "long".
after thinking about this for a while (and hearing a bit more on Swiss/german TV [not much !!]) it seems my earlier assumption is correct - the soldiers injured were from EOD and were attemting to disarm the boobytrapped round.
My guesstimate? [not totally unfounded but take with a grain of salt!!]
1. terrorists have knowledge fo where some of Saddam's WMD's are and how to rig them for use in an insurgency situation.
2. a Sarin round was prepared and placed near the Bahgdad airport.
3. part of that preparation included a mechanism to simulate the firing of the round (to mix the chemicals).
4. EOD, in thier attempt to disarm the trap, failed to disarm the "mixing" mechanism and it went off. [this would be a small explosion and fits with the claim that the round "partially" detonated.] This might also release a "small amount" of the sarin at the time of the detonation.
5. If EOD had already sucessfully disarmed the main fuse of the round, a further explosion would not have occurred. [also likely as the fuse must be removed before the innards are accessable]
ANY EOD / Arty Experts out there who can validate this scenario??
Hope over here. Check out post 119.