What types of bombs do terrorists use?
Terrorists use an assortment of dangerous materials to fabricate bombs that can vary in size from a pipe bomb weighing several pounds to a truck bomb weighing several thousand pounds. Explosives used by terrorists are often classified by the following categories: • Unconventional use a conventional object used in an unconventional way to create mass destruction. In the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, hijackers flew passenger planes into their intended targets, relying on the impact of the planes and their full fuel tanks to create havoc. • Vehicle bomb usually large powerful devices that consist of a large quantity of explosives fitted with a timed or remotely triggered detonator packed onto a car or truck. • Pipe bomb a quantity of explosives sealed into a length of metal or plastic pipe. A timing fuse usually controls detonation, but other methods can be used including, electronic timers, remote triggers, and motion sensors. These are the most common ex