Standing Well Back
20th Century

Oops! Bangkok terrorist plots have been known to fail before.

Today’s incidents in Bangkok have all the hallmarks of a bit of a disaster for the “terrorist” gang concerned. However this is not the first terrorist plot to go horribly wrong in Bangkok,. Back in March 1994 Ramzi Yousef is believed to have been involved in an attempted vehicle bomb attack on the Israeli embassy there.  He and his accomplices rented a truck, (strangling the delivery driver and leaving his dead body in the back of the truck) loaded it with a ton of explosives  and then the designated suicide bomber set off for the target driving the truck with the bomb and the dead body in the back.  On the way to the target, the klutz of a terrorist got involved in a road traffic incident, crashing into a taxi bike and a car at a busy intersection.  The terrorist driving the VBIED panicked … and ran off abandoning the vehicle, bomb and body included.

 

Police responded to the scene of the traffic accident, and without checking the back, took the vehicle to the police vehicle pound…  A week later the vehicle owner called to try and locate his truck … and was led to a very smelly truck in the vehicle pound where the police discovered the putrefying remains of the delivery boy, and a one ton bomb ready to go off at the flick of a switch.  By then Ramzi Yousef and disappeared but he did leave his fingerprints on the bomb.  Yousef, the man behind the first World Trade Center bomb in New York is often described as a terrorist mastermind and genius, but the facts of some of his exploits don’t bear that out. He nearly blew his hand off in an incident in Pakistan when a device functioned and set fire to his bomb making facility accidentally in Manila while planning Operation Bojinka.

VBIED

Hezbollah threat – vbied?

I see things stirring in Thailand where US authorities have warned of an imminent terrorist attack. It appears this may be Hezbollah linked. Is this evolving threat an Iranian response to recent events, like the recent nuclear physicist assassination? Rather than close the Hormuz straits will they use a Hezbollah proxy to hit back at the west? Operational deniability, but strategic and political effect. It’s unlikely to be just Thailand. If it happens their MO would be a vbied. Hold on to your hats.

2010-2020

The media and terrorist bomb making

There’s an interesting NPR article here about how the media report bomb making details.  The general thrust is that the genie is already out of the bottle and if a terrorist wants to make a bomb he doesn’t require education or prompting from press reporting to be able to make the final step.  As readers of this blog will know I don’t hold the press in high regard anyway for reporting useful facts in this domain!  (Note the comment from the CNN expert who clearly doesn’t know the difference between a fuel component in an explosive and an “accelerant” component in an incendiary.)   In general I would hope the point that making the public more aware of precursors is working – several recent cases have been reported to the police to start with by retailers of fertiliser or Hydrogen Peroxide who were suspicious of people buying the material from them.

Despite that I’m still a little amazed that in incidents such as the Glasgow airport incident and the Times Square effort that well educated terrorists mounted an attack with large devices that were never going to “detonate” in a million years. Wishful thinking gets you a long way but not far enough. It indicates strongly that these were lone wolf attacks without the training and  resources of an effective terrorist organisation behind them… which is good.  There is another argument though… from a terrorist’s perspective both attacks “succeeded” in terms of raising awareness of their cause…..Discusss…

1990-2000

Collar Bombs and the Media

The recent collar bomb incident in Australia (link here; (a hoax) highlights to me the role that modern media can play in designing both IEDs and indeed in designing the criminal operations associated with them. I’m treading a fine line here between discussing my concerns and avoiding adding to them. But I’m working on the basis that even the most stupid terrorist has access to a TV and the internet and has worked out the joys of google. And I’m not going to discuss much at all about the technicalities of construction or render-safe. My discussion focuses on the widespread coverage of such events and the ideas they give miscreants.

For background, collar bombs are not new, and normally associated with extortion or hostage situations. In 2000 there was a well-documented case in Colombia, that resulted in the death of a victim and a bomb disposal operator. Less well reported was an earlier case in Venezuela that I suspect was indirectly linked. The Colombian case was unusual for the complexity of the device and surprisingly small amount of money being extorted – if I recall correctly about $6000.

In 2003 there were more cases in Colombia and perhaps Venezuela again.

In 2003 a well publicized case of a collar bomb occurred in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The concept has been used frequently and often by TV producers. The movie “Miami Vice” in 2006 featured one and the TV show CSI Miami also used such a story in 2002, An episode of Hawaii five 0 (season 1 episode 12) used a similar story. One episode of (“1000 ways to die”) also featured a device of this nature.

A film released 2011, called 30 minutes or less featured a neck bomb.

Other films featuring collar bombs include:

  • Swordfish
  • The Running Man
  • SAW 3
  • Battlefield Earth

Other TV shows that featured the concept include:

  • NCIS
  • Nikita
  • Flashpoint
  • MacGyver
  • Torchwood
  • Criminal Minds
  • Law and Order: Criminal Intent
  • The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  • Alias

A short drama film was made called PVC1 received widespread attention which featured a collar bomb.

The video game SAW also featured a collar bomb detonating.

The concept also fascinates documentary makers… The following have featured examination of the Erie device:

    • America’s Most Wanted have featured the case three times

Anderson Cooper 360

  • Fox News Channel “In the line up”
  • The 99 most Bizarre Crimes

 

I think significantly, a very detailed analysis of the Erie case was published in Wired magazine 8 months ago.

So in truth, there is no shortage if inspiration for evil people….but perhaps TV and movie script writers do lack imagination and like copying each others ideas more than terrorists do.

2010-2020

Plata o plomo

In a previous post I detailed the use of remarkably sophisticated submarines used by South American narco gangs to smuggle cocaine. Here below are some recent images of a different range of narco developed equipment – this time “tanks” or more accurately armoured personnel carriers. All of these from Mexico where things are are pretty bad. The war between the individual cartels sometimes makes the conflict between the cartels and the police and military seem like a side show. Government officials are being cowed by the concept of “plata o plomo” – silver or lead…… they are offered both and have to make the choice.  Some people suggest that 40,000 people have been killed or “disappeared” since 2006… that’s a pretty big number and easily exceeds Iraq and Afghanistan.

As is usual , this ain’t a first, and I recall other terrorist groups improvising such things in the past. and in response cartels are now obtaining anti-tank weapons.

 

 

By the way, 2011 is Mexico’s “Year of Tourism”.

Close Me
Looking for Something?
Search:
Post Categories: