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BOMB ATTACK IN YOUR TOWN

 By Doug Hanson

It is 11:42 p.m., four blocks west of the harbor, and a small, dark blue sedan pulls up next to the entrance gate to the local oil distributor’s tank farm. The driver hops out and quickly cuts the chain lock holding the gate. As the gate swings open, the driver maneuvers the small car in between two 80,000 gallon tanks of gasoline. An oil tanker came up the river earlier in the day and off-loaded high-test gasoline sufficient to fill both tanks. The driver rapidly walks away and takes up a position about three quarters of a mile from the car. Meanwhile, about a quarter of a mile down the river to the south, a small boat with no lights moves slowly up the river. It stays close to the shore to avoid being seen. As it rounds a bend in the river, it is headed for the loading dock of the Ajax Specialty Chemical Company, a manufacturer of highly volatile industrial solvents. Just inside the dock area are four large storage tanks containing various industrial chemicals. The boat, a 15 foot wooden hull craft with a small engine, sits very low in the water. It is carrying two men and 2,100 pounds of explosives. It slips quietly under the dock and makes its way to approximately the center of the dock area. One man ties the boat to a piling, then the two men begin to recite a series of prayers in whispered tones. When finished, the second man removes a small cell phone from his pocket and makes a call. Seconds later, a cell phone rings in the hand of the driver of the dark blue sedan. As he answers, only one word is spoken – “Go.” The driver disconnects from the call and then dials a number. On the second ring of the phone, 970 pounds of explosives erupt in a thunderous explosion between the two gasoline tanks. Instantaneously, the tank explodes with a fireball which races high into the air. As the shock wave moves down the river, the man in the boat pushes the “redial” key on his phone. Immediately, the entire chemical company dock explodes, followed in a split second by all four chemical storage tanks and a large container ship which is docked alongside the company’s dock.

Resulting Devastation

The combined blasts flatten, or severely damage, homes within almost a mile radius. Fifty-two workers in the chemical plant are killed; 12 others are seriously burned. Twenty-two people are killed in their homes and at a small shopping mall near the area. Another 60 people are seriously injured by flying glass and debris.

The community is outraged and demands to know “how this could happen and why police didn’t stop it.” In reality, there is little that can be done to stop a car or boat bomb from going off once it is in place. There is, unfortunately, no “magic blanket” you can throw over a vehicle to contain a blast. Precautions, like barriers to make standoff areas, bollards, gates and even security guards, are all important in the attempt to keep a vehicle away from a site. However, when a vehicle is headed for a site, most likely, the driver is resolved to die with the bomb and there is almost no way to stop him. Even if the driver is shot in the street, in most cases, the bomb will still go off, just not at the intended target.

Car Bombs, Boat Bombs, Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices

The car, truck or boat bombs all fall into the general category of IED or improvised explosive device. The term “Vehicle Borne” IED, or VBIED, is generally used to distinguish vehicle devices from pipe bombs, individual suicide bombers and other land devices. Unlike a conventional explosive, the IED can take on almost any shape or form. The determining factors are the vehicle itself (size and shape) and the imagination of the bomber. According to the U.S. Treasury, Department of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF), a sedan car can contain up to 1,000 pounds of explosives; a passenger/cargo van as much as 4,000 pounds; and a small delivery truck up to 10,000 pounds. A small boat or inflatable craft could carry in the range of 1,000 to 4,000 pounds of explosives, as well. A bomb like that in our small town scenario above would most likely be made from stolen commercial high explosives like TNT or dynamite, or with military high explosives like C4 or Semtex. In cases where the vehicle size is not a limitation, as in the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing, an explosive made of commercial ammonium nitrate fertilizer mixed with gasoline in 50 gallon drums makes a cheap and very effective device. In the U.S.S. Cole bombing in Yemen, the boat was loaded with a sufficient amount of explosives to blow a 40 foot wide hole in the side of the massive naval ship. In an earlier attempt, the small boat sank because it was too heavily loaded with explosives.

Vehicle bombs have been used in recent history. On October 12, 2002, a car bomb synchronized with two other devices exploded in rapid succession outside of the Indonesian Island Resort in Bali, killing 192 people and injuring scores of others. This bombing demonstrates that terrorists have developed methods for synchronizing explosions and greatly adding to the overall destructive impact of such acts. It also reaffirms that the car bomb is a proven, effective means of creating a disaster.

The multiple, simultaneous bombings in Bali, and the recent multiple training bombings which occurred in Spain before their national election, demonstrate that terrorists have become more sophisticated in the way in which they construct and detonate these devices. In the past, timers like manual or digital clocks were used to detonate car bombs, as well as stationary bombs. Increasingly, present-day terrorists are using modern technologies, like cell phones or portable radios, to remotely detonate their devices. It is possible that even communications between police and emergency first responders may be set to trigger explosions of secondary devices at a blast scene. This scenario greatly compounds the ability of all first responders to operate effectively and safely at the scene of bombing disasters.

In Israel, where suicide bombers and VBIEDs are almost a weekly occurrence, it has become common for secondary explosions to be detonated upon arrival of police and EMS workers. Clearly, the intent of the bomber is the killing of as many first responders as possible and further adds to the destruction and chaos of these events.

Other Forms of IEDs

For large targets – like the gasoline tanks or chemical plant in our opening scenario – a vehicle bomb is the most appropriate mechanism to accomplish the terrorists’ end result. However, IEDs can also take on a wide variety of other appearances. In fact, the design of an IED is governed only by the size of the explosion which the bomber wishes to make and his ingenuity at disguising the device.

In Iraq, our troops are constantly under attack by IEDs aimed both at individuals and at military or civilian contractor convoys. Devices have been concealed in places like plastic garbage bags lying along the roadside, abandoned refrigerators, milk cartons and MRE bags, burlap sacks, potholes in the road filled with dirt and an explosive device in the bottom, and even devices planted in dead animal carcasses. IEDs have also been concealed in emergency equipment, such as inside fire extinguishers where the bottom was cut out, the bomb implanted, then the bottom sealed back on the unit. 

In addition to conventional explosives, a wide variety of other chemicals may be used in  car and truck bombs. The Risk Assessment Division, Information Analysis Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security, lists, among other things, the following:  ammonium nitrate (fertilizer); sodium azide; magnesium azide; methenamine; potassium nitrate; anhydrous hydrazine (boiler cleaner, rocket fuel component); liquid nitromethane (racing fuel); sulphuric and nitric acid; etc.

Detection and Prevention

of VBIED Incidents

As stated at the beginning of this article, there is no “magic blanket” which law enforcement can use to throw over a VBIED and prevent the devastation which results from its detonation. Once the vehicle bomb is in place, there is little which can be done to prevent its detonation by either a suicide driver within the vehicle or a hidden bomber with a remote detonation device. This leaves us with early detection as the primary means for mitigating the effect of potential VBIEDs. Police and security personnel need to be aware of the indicators which may be suggestive of a planned terrorist attack. This event could be by a foreign group (like al-Qaeda) or a domestic group as occurred in the Oklahoma City event. The FBI’s Terrorist Explosives Device Analytical Center (TEDAC, Quantico, VA) has studied the makeup of over 90% of the IEDs used in various terrorist attacks around the world within the last several years. In February of 2004, terrorist specialists in Congress were briefed on the results of their findings (which to date have not otherwise been released). The study showed that, essentially, all of the IEDs were both designed and manufactured by the same group of bomb makers or, at least, from the same instructional manual. Bomb housings, wiring, detonation cord, fuses and switches, chemical composition of the explosives, and remote switching devices used for detonation all were very similar (see page 45 of the report at www.911commission.gov/hearings/hearing10/mueller_fbi_report.pdf). 

Several “how-to” manuals are available on the Internet for $15 to $20 describing the production of IEDs. Just such information was used by the two students who carried out the tragic episode at the Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999. More recently (October 7, 2004), a high school student in Mansfield, Massachusetts, was arrested for plotting to shoot students and explode bombs in the school. Good police work led to the discovery of this plot, the student’s arrest, and prevention of a major horrific crime.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin on May 15, 2003, titled Potential Indicators of Threats Involving Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs). The full bulletin is available on-line at www.mipt.org/pdf/dhsbulletinvbied.pdf. The following are key items for police to be aware of when performing surveillance on individuals suspected of planning bombing attacks, searching their residences or properties, or observing events which might be related to bomb-making activity:

• Theft of explosives, fuses, or chemicals used for explosives production from local companies or an armory;

• Rental of storage facilities or residences where chemicals are stored or mixed or delivery of chemicals, solvents or fertilizers to these locations;

• Chemical fires, small explosions, noxious odors from residences, storage units or motel rooms or detection of small test explosions in wooded or remote areas;

• Identifying cars, vans or trucks with modifications including changes to the interior space, installation of heavy-duty springs to carry extra heavy loads, etc;

• Individuals with missing fingers or chemical burns on hands, arms or face or reports by the medical community of treating such incidents;

• Individuals trying to buy (or obtain through illegal means) blueprints to buildings, chemical plants or target facilities;

• Repeated surveillance by suspect individuals of a target facility, including picture taking and electronic surveillance;

• Interrupted surveillance patterns – often, terrorists will observe a target and then not return for several weeks or months to observe the target again. Historically, terrorists work on a long-range schedule; they may plan events for months, or years, before actually carrying out the attack. This makes detection by police and security personnel very difficult to follow up and detect; and

• Finding of sophisticated, state-of-the-art electronics and communications equipment in a suspect’s residence, storage unit, car or hotel room. Such equipment may include military and commercial night vision devices, GPS systems, cell phones, laptops, etc. It should be assumed that a well financed, organized terrorist cell will have access to the most appropriate, current high technology equipment.

The Target

The most likely targets for terrorist attacks in our country are so-called “soft targets” as opposed to military targets which are heavily defended. Soft targets run the gamut of things which can be in an average American city or town. These could be industrial targets, like chemical plants, oil refineries, tank farms, LNG tanks, corporate office buildings, large banks or financial institutions, etc. They could also be large shopping malls, civic centers and sports arenas, hotels, resorts, hospitals, etc. Large gatherings like fairs, company picnics, school graduations, etc. could also be potential targets. Law enforcement agencies need to develop a detailed list of the potential targets in their area, then develop an assessment of what the potential impact of an attack would be on each facility. While it is impossible for a “sane, rational thinking American” to get inside the mind-set of a “twisted, radical terrorist,” we need to determine as best we can what would be the “most likely targets” to hit in each area. This will allow the development of a prioritization of targets and focus activity on those who present the highest level of future risk.

Once a priority list is developed, an action plan can be put in place outlining which security measures need to be implemented to minimize a VBIED ( barriers, restricted vehicle access, etc.), which level of surveillance is required and a plan of action in the event of an attack.

Crime Scene Investigation

In the event a bombing occurs, the site must be treated as a crime scene. The ATF recommends a 30 minute wait before a site search begins to allow for any secondary explosions, either from a second device or an accidental ignition of something at the scene. However, when personal injuries are involved, firefighters and EMS first responders must enter the scene immediately to remove and attend to the injured. Because their activity may compromise some crime scene evidence, it is important that these groups understand “what is evidence” so they can minimize their impact on the site while still performing their emergency services.

The best evidence search method is what is called the “outside in search.” The outer perimeter is secured, marked off and searched; the search moving slowly inward to ground zero. This allows for collection of small fragments of evidence and also allows the outer area to be secured from contamination by media, residence or sightseers.The selection of a search pattern is based on several parameters including the size of the explosion, the extent of the damage, and the perimeter size. The types of evidence routinely collected include primary evidence (parts of the device or containers) and secondary evidence (fragments or parts of objects close to the explosive device).

Additional Resources

Listed below are a variety of computerized training courses and instructor lead training courses on bomb security and blast mitigation:

Bomb Training CDs:

Bomb Countermeasures for Security Professionals, CD-ROM, Version 2

www.bombsecurity.com/cdrom.html

Bomb Threats, CD Training Program

www.securitymanagement.com/seminar_2002/bookstore.html

Classes in Bomb Countermeasures:

Bomb Countermeasures Course, S2 Institute, Clearwater, FL

www.s2institute.com/advancedclasses/bombcmres.html

Bomb Search and Identification Course, ESI, Rifle, CO

www.esi-lifeforce.com/Old%20Files/Bombcountermeasures.html

Bomb Threats, CD Training Program

www.securitymanagement.com/seminar_2002/bookstore.html

Bomb Documents:

Bombs, Protecting People and Property, a Handbook for Managers, 4th ed.

www.mipt.org/pdf/bombs_protectpeopleproperty.pdf

Chemical Plant Security, a Report to Congress, January 2003

www.zra.com/docs/051203-docs/crs-chemical.pdf

Explosives Identification Guide, Mike Pickett, Life Safety Systems,

Explosives Training Videos

www.lifesafetysys.com/osb/showitem.cfm/Category/38 n

About the Author: Doug Hanson is a Ph.D. biochemist who has operated toxicology and analytical chemistry laboratories for years. For a period of time, he was involved in testing for the U.S. Army Medical R&D Command (USAMRDC) and the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). He has written hundreds of technical papers, testimony presented before Congress, and articles on biological and chemical warfare and on forensic analysis for law enforcement and EMS technical and trade journals. He has also written a number of short stories and a soon to be released novel on bioterrorism.

He can be reached at dougmh@comcast.net.