HOME MADE Explosives
(HME)
UNCLASSIFIED
Homemade Explosives (HME) Threat
Improvised explosive device (IED) attacks remain the primary tactic for terrorists
seeking relatively uncomplicated, inexpensive means for inflicting mass casualties
and maximum damage.
Many IEDs utilize homemade explosives, which are types of explosives that can be
mixed by almost anyone and made from common household chemicals that are easily
accessible and can be purchased legally.
Unlike conventional manufactured military or commercial explosives, terrorists
improvise innovative HMEs from widely available precursor chemicals and common
household products.
Three ways to get explosives:
- Buy them
- Steal them
- Make them
Oklahoma City is a prime example
Bomb makers are only limited by their imagination, technical skills, able materials
and target availability.
HME Information on the Internet
Terrorists use chat rooms, web forums, and other Internet resources to disseminate
information on obtaining and improvising precursors and explosives, assembling devices,
and emplacement and concealment tactics.
Recipes and tactics spread from site to site, reaching vast numbers of current and
aspiring terrorists across the globe.
Advantages of HME
There are many advantages to using HME, including availability, cost and accessibility.

Can be improvised from ordinary
household products

Can be obtained legally

HMEs are cheaper to improvise

Can be made at home or in a workshop

Degree in chemistry is not necessary

Commercial or Military explosives are
difficult to obtain and expensive
Disadvantages of HME
Disadvantages to using HMEs include required procedural knowledge, safety hazards,
and potential law enforcement interdiction points.

May require an instructor or detailed recipes
to improvise HME

Many multi-step recipes and assembly
directions may be difficult to follow for
inexperienced individuals

Accidents due to premature detonation

Health hazards from harmful precursors can
injure or even kill the individual making the
HME

Buying precursors can be an interdiction point
Types of HMEs: Ammonium Nitrate-Based
Ammonium nitrate-based explosives, consisting of ammonium nitrate and another
precursor that serves as a fuel, are the most widely used types of binary explosives.
Popular fuels to mix with AN include:




Fuel oil (ANFO)
Sugar (ANS)
Aluminum powder (ANAL)
Nitromethane (ANNM)
Ammonium Nitrate
Ammonium Nitrate / Nitromethane
Aluminum
Powder
Ammonium Nitrate Sugar
(ANS)
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its splinter groups have used ANS and ANNIE in
vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) across Great Britain, while ANFO has become one of
the most widely used explosives in the world.
Types of HMEs: Binary Explosives
Binary explosives consist of two non-explosive chemical precursors that can be
mixed together to create a blasting cap-sensitive explosive once they are
combined.
 Examples include Picatinny Liquid Explosive (PLX, Ethylenediamine
and nitromethane) and ammonium nitrate-based types, such as
Astrolite® (a liquid explosive consisting of ammonium nitrate and
anhydrous hydrazine), Tannerite (commercially available over the
Internet), and ammonium nitrate and nitromethane.
 The Precursors for these HMEs are not considered explosives
themselves by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF) or U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Only
when mixed are they classified as explosives.
 Mixing binary explosives can be a relatively simple process.
In addition to improvising ANFO, Timothy
McVeigh mixed ammonium nitrate and
Nitromethane to form another type of ANbased HME, both of which were used in the
1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Tannerite Binary with Training CD
Tannerite
•
Easily obtained via
the internet, shipped
via UPS.
•
9 pounds of Tannerite
causes catastrophic
damage to an
ambulance
Types of HMEs: Hydrogen Peroxide-Based
Extremely sensitive to heat, shock, and friction, hydrogen peroxide-based explosives,
such as HMTD and TATP, are some of the most commonly used HME in IEDs.
Food
Additives for
Citric Acid
Camp Stove
Fuel Tablets
for Hexamine
Hair Bleach for
Hydrogen
Peroxide
Drain
Cleaners for
Sulfuric Acid
Nail Polish
Remover for
Acetone
Hexamethylene
Triperoxide Diamine
(HMTD)
Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP)
The Millennium bomber, Ahmed Ressam, planned to use HMTD as part of an IED
attack on the Los Angeles International Airport on New Years Eve 1999, while
Richard Reid in 2001 attempted to use TATP as a booster in his shoe bomb.
•Firing chain of Reid
device:
1. Human mind /hands
2. Matches
3. Time Fuse
4. Improvised Initiator
5. Booster-Detonating Cord
6. Main Charge Total about 5
ounces
Types of HMEs: Hydrogen Peroxide-Based (cont’d)
The 2006 Transatlantic liquid explosives plot revealed terrorist intentions to
detonate liquid peroxide-based HME mixed with the citrus soft drink Tang and
other organic materials aboard commercial airliners.
 Organic materials, such as black
pepper, flour and cumin, can serve as
excellent components for peroxidebased HMEs.
 Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide
(MEKP) is a liquid explosive that can
be improvised from its precursors
Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), hydrogen
peroxide, and sulfuric acid.
 Liquid explosives can be artfully
concealed in soft drink bottles,
shampoo bottles, and other
innocuous containers, making them
easier to smuggle.
Types of HMEs: Liquid Peroxide Based Explosives
Terrorist operatives overseas have planned numerous plots and attacks using
Concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide (CHP) solutions blended with fuels to create
liquid high explosives.
 In September 2007, German authorities foiled a bombing
plot in which terrorists were planning to use CHP
solutions to make explosives.
 CHP blended formulas were to be used in the disrupted
August 2006 plot to blow up airliners en route from the
United Kingdom to the United States.
 The explosive devices used in the attacks on the London
transit system in July 2005 involved CHP formulations.
 The failed 2004 bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi,
Pakistan used a CHP-based device.
Liquid home made explosives can be formed by blending a strong oxidizer, such
as hydrogen peroxide, with an organic material used as a fuel. Based on the
fuel type and concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the resulting HME will vary
in its ease of detonation and explosive energy.
New Tactics and Trends of HMEs
New explosive trends appear in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters abroad, as
terrorists cope with limited resources and adapt to security measures.
Precursors
Recipes harvested online list precursors
ranging from animal dung and urine to salt,
spices, flour and even coffee.
Liquid Explosives
Terrorists attempted to adapt to aviation
security measures by developing a plot to
conceal liquid explosives in soft drink bottles,
toothpaste tubes and a variety of innocent
looking containers.
New trends frequently migrate to other theaters via the Internet and online Jihadi
connections.
Potential Indicators of Explosives Manufacturing
Explosives manufacturing involves a level of technical knowledge. Laboratory
equipment may be improvised or conventional.
Additional Dangers of HME for Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement Officers may mistake HME for drugs during initial investigation.
+
=
Portable drug test kits sold under the name NIK are designed to test for cocaine,
PCP, LSD and brown heroin. If mixed with TATP or HMTD, the reaction may be
violent resulting in injury to the officer.
Martinez, GA
Dried product
Identified by Ahura as
mixture:
Silver nitrate
Ammonium bicarbonate
Ammonium carbonate
The finest of mixing and
cooking containers are
used
Limestone County, Alabama
Several chemicals were used as oxidizers and fuels in the
following slides:
The following categorizes are the dangerous chemicals
found:
Oxidizer Chemicals
• Potassium Chlorate (KCL03)
• Potassium Perchlorate (KCL04)
• Potassium Nitrate (KN03)
Peroxide Based Explosives
Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP)
Hexamethylene Teiperoxide Diamine
(HMTD)
Fuels in Explosive Mixtures
Aluminum Powder (AL)
Nitromethane (CH2N02)
Icing Sugar
Escondido, California
23 Feb 2011 – Saudi National
Arrested In Texas
Came to U.S. in Oct 2008 on student visa.
Initially, college major was Chemical Engineering.
Changed schools twice. Now majoring in Business.
 Personal Journal & blog postings.
His desire for violent jihad and martyrdom.
Target lists.
"I excelled in my studies in high school in order to take
advantage of an opportunity for a scholarship to
America. … I chose [a specific Saudi sponsoring
corporation] for two reasons.
First [it] sends its students directly to America …
Second[ its] financial scholarship is the largest,
which will help tremendously in providing me with
the support I need for Jihad. …
“Now after mastering the English language, learning
how to build explosives, and continuous planning to
target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad."
• The Central Valley Arson Investigators
Association (CVAIA) was established in 1968.
• Holds an IED / Live Fire Range class in May
at the Tulare County Ag Center.
• Central Valley Arson Investigators Web Site:
• http://www.centralvalleyarson.org/