Transit 101 | Suspicious Devices

Although these devices come in all shapes and sizes, common characteristics include:

Unusual wires and batteries
Some sort of visible tank, bottle or bag
A clock or timer attached to the object

IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES (IEDs)

These are common devices used by terrorists. Most bombs assembled by terrorists and other disgruntled or mentally ill individuals are improvised. The raw material required for the explosives is stolen or misappropriated from military or commercial blasting supplies or is made from fertilizer and other readily available household ingredients.

Almost all IEDs, no matter how big or small, consist of four basic components: a power supply, some type of switch or timer, a detonator/initiator and the main explosive charge. The effects of an IED are sometimes worsened by the addition of material, such as scrap iron or ball bearings. Sometimes the switch/timer is not the only component that activates the detonator; there is also an anti-handling device that triggers the device when the IED is handled or moved. The purpose of most IEDs is to kill or maim. Some IEDs, known as incendiaries, are intended to cause damage or destruction by fire.

PIPE BOMB

This is the most common type of terrorist bomb and usually consists of low-velocity explosives inside a tightly capped piece of pipe. Pipe bombs are very easily made using gunpowder and iron, steel, PVC, aluminum or copper pipes. They are sometimes wrapped with nails to cause even more harm.

Seventy-five percent of the bombs found in the United States are pipe bombs filled with match heads or black powder. Many of them are initiated with a burning-time fuse. In addition, both large and small bombs with sophisticated fusing and firing systems have been used. The threat emanating from sophisticated terrorist groups is going to be less than obvious.

MOLOTOV COCKTAIL

This improvised weapon - first used by the Russian resistance against German tanks in World War II - is used by terrorists worldwide. Molotov cocktails are extremely simple to make and can cause considerable damage. They are usually made from materials like gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, ethyl or methyl alcohol, lighter fluid and turpentine, all of which are easily obtained. The explosive material is placed in a glass bottle, which breaks upon impact. A piece of cotton serves as a fuse, which is ignited before the bottle is thrown at the target.