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==Description== ==Description==
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Pressure cooker bombs are relatively easy to make, as only readily available materials are needed. The bomb can be ignited using a simple ] such as a digital watch, garage door opener, cell phone, pager, kitchen timer, or alarm clock.<ref name="history"/><ref name="huffingtonpost2">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/boston-bombs-pressure-cookers_n_3093288.html |author= |title=Boston Bombs Were In Pressure Cookers And Hidden In Black Duffel Bags, Says Person Briefed On Probe |publisher=Huffington Post |date= |accessdate=April 17, 2013}}</ref> The power of the explosion depends on the size of the pressure cooker and the amount and type of explosives used.<ref name="homeland_sec_alert">{{cite web|url=http://www.5nr.org/downloads/notice/PotentialTerrorist.pdf|title=POTENTIAL TERRORIST USE OF PRESSURECOOKERS|author=US Department of Homeland Security|date=2004}}</ref> Pressure cooker bombs are relatively easy to make since - apart from the explosive itself - only readily available materials are needed. The bomb can be ignited using a simple ] such as a digital watch, garage door opener, cell phone, pager, kitchen timer, or alarm clock.<ref name="history"/><ref name="huffingtonpost2">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/boston-bombs-pressure-cookers_n_3093288.html |author= |title=Boston Bombs Were In Pressure Cookers And Hidden In Black Duffel Bags, Says Person Briefed On Probe |publisher=Huffington Post |date= |accessdate=April 17, 2013}}</ref> The power of the explosion depends on the size of the pressure cooker and the amount and type of explosives used.<ref name="homeland_sec_alert">{{cite web|url=http://www.5nr.org/downloads/notice/PotentialTerrorist.pdf|title=POTENTIAL TERRORIST USE OF PRESSURECOOKERS|author=US Department of Homeland Security|date=2004}}</ref>


Like a ], the pressure cooker contains the energy of the explosion and allows it to build up before it releases, and allows ] to be used to produce a relatively large explosion.<ref name="ctvnews1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/how-pressure-cooker-bombs-boost-the-deadliness-of-low-explosives-1.1241516 |author= |title=How pressure-cooker bombs boost the deadliness of 'low explosives' |publisher=Ctvnews.ca |date=February 20, 2005 |accessdate=April 17, 2013}}</ref> The fragmentation of the pressure cooker itself creates potentially lethal ].<ref name="ctvnews1"/> Like a ], the pressure cooker contains the energy of the explosion and allows it to build up before it releases, and allows ] to be used to produce a relatively large explosion.<ref name="ctvnews1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/how-pressure-cooker-bombs-boost-the-deadliness-of-low-explosives-1.1241516 |author= |title=How pressure-cooker bombs boost the deadliness of 'low explosives' |publisher=Ctvnews.ca |date=February 20, 2005 |accessdate=April 17, 2013}}</ref> The fragmentation of the pressure cooker itself creates potentially lethal ].<ref name="ctvnews1"/>

Revision as of 09:32, 20 April 2013

Weapon
Pressure cooker bomb
Pressure cooker fragment believed by the FBI to be part of one of the explosive devices used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings

A pressure cooker bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED), a type of homemade bomb. It is made by placing explosive material into a pressure cooker and attaching a blasting cap at the top of the cooker.

This type of bomb has been a popular weapon of terrorists. Al-Qaeda published a how-to recipe in an online jihadi magazine, to encourage "lone wolf" jihadis to attack what they view as the enemies of jihad, including the United States and its allies.

Pressure cooker bombs have been used in a number of attacks in the 21st century. Among them have been the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, 2010 Stockholm bombings (failed to explode), the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt (failed to explode), and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Description

Pressure cooker

Pressure cooker bombs are relatively easy to make since - apart from the explosive itself - only readily available materials are needed. The bomb can be ignited using a simple electronic device such as a digital watch, garage door opener, cell phone, pager, kitchen timer, or alarm clock. The power of the explosion depends on the size of the pressure cooker and the amount and type of explosives used.

Like a pipe bomb, the pressure cooker contains the energy of the explosion and allows it to build up before it releases, and allows low explosives to be used to produce a relatively large explosion. The fragmentation of the pressure cooker itself creates potentially lethal shrapnel.

History

2000–09

Ten Islamic militants were convicted of planning to blow up a market in Strasbourg, France, on New Year's Eve 2000.

From 2002–04, pressure cooker bombs were widely used in terror and IED attacks in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan.

In 2003, a terrorist from Chechnya named Abudullah, carrying a pressure cooker bomb detonated explosives and killed six people after being arrested near Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility. In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert to federal and state security officials warning: "A technique commonly taught in Afghan terrorist training camps is the use/conversion of pressure cookers into IEDs."

In July 2006, in Mumbai, India, in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings seven pressure cooker bombs detonated on commuter trains, killing 209 people and injuring 714. According to Mumbai Police, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

2010–present

Step-by-step instructions for making pressure cooker bombs were published in an article titled "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom" in the Al-Qaeda-linked Inspire magazine in the summer of 2010, by "The AQ chef". The article says "the pressurized cooker is the most effective method" for making a simple bomb. It describes how to fill the cooker with shrapnel and gunpowder, and to create a detonator using the filament of a light bulb and a clock timer. Analysts believe the work was the brainchild of Anwar al-Awlaki, and edited by him and by Samir Khan. Inspire's goal is to encourage "lone wolf" Jihadis to attack what they view as the enemies of Jihad, including the United States and its allies.

Justice Department diagram showing positioning of pressure cooker in Faisal Shahzad's vehicle in New York’s Times Square bombing

More recently there were three Islamic radical terrorist cases in the West that involved pressure cooker bombs. The unsuccessful Times Square car bombing attempt in May 2010, in New York City, included a pressure cooker bomb which failed to detonate. The bomb-maker, Faisal Shahzad, was sentenced to life in prison. In the December 2010 Stockholm bombings, a suicide bomber with extreme views on Islam set up a pressure cooker bomb, which failed to detonate. In July 2011, Naser Jason Abdo, a U.S. Army private at Fort Hood, Texas, who took pressure cooker bomb-making tips from the Al-Qaeda magazine article, was arrested for planning to blow up a restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers. Two pressure cookers and bomb-making materials were found in his hotel room. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In Pakistan, in March 2010, terrorists bombed the U.S.-based Christian aid group World Vision International, killing six employees, using a remotely detonated pressure cooker bomb. In October 2012, French police found a makeshift pressure cooker with bomb-making materials near Paris as part of an investigation into an attack on a kosher grocery store.

Two pressure cooker bombs were used in the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013. The pressure cookers were filled with nails, ball bearings, and black powder, and the devices were triggered by kitchen-type egg timers.

See also

References

  1. ^ "A Short Recent History of Pressure Cooker Bombs". swampland. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "Boston Bombs Were In Pressure Cookers And Hidden In Black Duffel Bags, Says Person Briefed On Probe". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  3. US Department of Homeland Security (2004). "POTENTIAL TERRORIST USE OF PRESSURECOOKERS" (PDF).
  4. ^ "How pressure-cooker bombs boost the deadliness of 'low explosives'". Ctvnews.ca. February 20, 2005. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "A history of pressure cooker bombs". CBC News. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Crowley, Michael (April 16, 2013). "A Short Recent History of Pressure Cooker Bombs". Time. Retrieved April 17, 2013. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. ^ "Taliban claims Kabul suicide attack". smh.com.au. December 29, 2003. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  8. ^ "Death Toll at 209". CNN. September 30, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2013. Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. "Boston bombing investigators focus on possible suspect in surveillance video". CBS/AP News Article. CBS News. April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  10. "Pressure-cooker bomb instructions in Al-Qaeda magazine". USA Today. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  11. "Pressure cooker bombs suspected in Boston blast". Associated Press. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  12. "'Pressure Cooker' Bombs: Crude Devices In Boston Marathon Explosions Used In Previous Attacks Around The World". The Huffington Post. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  13. Paul Koring. "Lone-wolf bomber scenario poses special challenges for law agencies". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  14. "Boston Marathon bombs: Al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine taught pressure cooker bomb-making techniques". The Telegraph. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  15. Lee Keath. "Pressure Cooker Bombs Used in Past by Militants". ABC News. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  16. ^ "'Pressure Cooker' Bombs: Crude Devices In Boston Marathon Explosions Used In Previous Attacks Around The World )". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  17. Jill Lawless and Malin Rising. "Taimour Abdulwahab, Stockholm Bomber, Seen As Radical By U.K. Muslims". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  18. "Forensic Investigators Gather Clues to the Boston Bombing". San Francisco Chronicle. July 1, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  19. . publicintelligence.net http://info.publicintelligence.net/DHSpressurecookerieds.pdf. Retrieved April 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: |url= missing title (help)
  20. Vinograd, Cassandra; Dodds, Paisley (April 16, 2013). "AP Glance: Pressure Cooker Bombs". Associated Press. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  21. "Boston Bombs Were Loaded to Maim". New York Times. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.

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