Brussels terrorists likely used explosives nicknamed ‘The Mother of Satan’

This image provided by the Belgian Federal Police on Tuesday shows three men suspected of taking part in the attacks at Brussels Airport. (Belgian Federal Police via AP)

In the hours after the blasts that killed at least 31 people Tuesday in Brussels, investigators began piecing together how the Islamic State managed to detonate three bombs in the span of roughly an hour across the city.
Officials have found evidence of a peroxide-based explosive known as TATP in the apartment of one of the suspected bombers, although investigators have yet to say conclusively what type of bomb was used in the explosions Tuesday. But if TATP was indeed the primary ingredient in the bombs, the attack in Brussels would become the latest example of the chemical’s use in terrorist attacks across Europe.

[Attacks in Brussels bypassed a city already on high alert]

Highly unstable, peroxide-based explosives such as TATP and its sibling hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, or HMTD, have been used in terrorist bombs for decades. TATP first gained notoriety after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when Richard Reid, known as the shoe bomber, unsuccessfully tried to detonate a TATP-triggered explosive during a Paris to Miami flight in December 2001. TATP was also used in the 2005 London bombings that killed 56, as well as in the November 2015 attacks in Paris.
TATP’s ingredients, such as concentrated hydrogen peroxide and acetone, are extremely easy to procure and cook into an explosive. But the powdery substance is highly volatile and potent, earning it the nickname “The Mother of Satan.” A few grams of TATP can easily blow off fingers, while concentrated pounds of it are devastating.

According to an Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, who requested that his name be withheld because of his current employment, TATP-based explosive devices are rarely seen in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan because of how temperamental the material is and because stable, military-grade explosives are readily available. TATP, he said, has become a terrorist staple in Europe because of its accessible ingredients and how they raise little suspicion when purchased individually.
According to Brian Castner, a former Air Force explosive ordnance disposal technician and author of the book “All the Ways We Kill and Die,” the use of TATP-based explosives in both Paris and Brussels could suggest that a terrorist network in Europe has mastered the cooking and handling of TATP.
“There are actually very few bombmakers in the grand scheme of things,” Castner said. “Once one finds a successful way to construct these things, they mass produce it.”
While there are still few details about the devices used in the Belgium attacks, some reports indicate that the bombs at the airport were detonated within suitcases, while a suicide vest may have been used in the metro bombing.
While a seemingly small distinction, the two delivery methods involve different constructions for the bombmaker. A TATP-loaded vest would be harder to build and maintain, as the substance is so volatile. A suitcase loaded with TATP would be easier to transport and less likely to accidentally explode, since the charges would more protected than if placed in a vest.
[NATO headquarters, just a few miles from Brussels attacks, boosts alert status]
Reports on social media indicated that nails, screws and bolts were used in the bombs. The types of fragmentation in explosives such as the ones used in Brussels often change between ball bearings, bolts, nails and anything else the bombmaker might decide to pack into the charges to increase the carnage.
Pictures posted online of three suspects pushing carts loaded with suitcases through Brussels Airport show two of them wearing black gloves on their left hands. According to the Army technician, the gloves would be big enough to hold triggering devices for the bombs.