Determining the extent to which sources of aluminum (Al) powders, often used as fuel in improvised explosive devices (IEDs), can be differentiated is important for forensic investigations and gathering intelligence.
Previous work developed effective methods of characterizing Al powders using micromorphometric features of the Al particles and a multistage sampling approach. Since then, ~100 additional samples from Al powder sources representing five powder types used in IEDs and 33 product distributors have been added to the dataset. Using this large dataset, a study confirmed that 200 randomly selected fields of view (FOV) are needed to accurately characterize the powder.
Read more…
Source: Wiley Online Library
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Nevada: Cybertruck driver used ChatGPT to plan Las Vegas attack
January 7, 2025
Police found a six-page manifesto on Matthew Livelsberger’s phone and said he used ChatGPT to plan his New Year’s Day bombing at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. A few of the entries posted in the application included “How much Tannerite is equivalent to 1 pound of TNT?” and “What pistol could set it ...
- Louisiana: New Orleans attacker likely used common explosive in bombs
January 4, 2025
Federal authorities believe Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed 14 people in an ISIS-inspired vehicular attack in New Orleans, used a common explosive compound in two homemade bombs that did not detonate, ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson said Sunday. On Friday, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News that preliminary field ...
- Texas: Bomb-making materials found at Houston home of New Orleans attacker
January 3, 2025
Federal investigators found bomb-making materials while searching the Texas home of the man responsible for the deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, law enforcement officials said Friday. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S.-born citizen from Texas, was living in Houston. The investigators took inventory of the materials and returned the home back to its ...
- Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion investigators piece together suspect’s final hours
January 3, 2025
Matthew Livelsberger — the suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, officials said at a Thursday press briefing. Investigators had already collected significant evidence that Livelsberger was behind the wheel of the vehicle ...
- Louisiana: Bomb-making materials found at New Orleans Airbnb potentially tied to Bourbon Street terrorist
January 2, 2025
Bomb-making materials were reportedly found at a New Orleans Airbnb, as authorities investigate a possible connection to the truck-ramming terror attack that killed at least 15 people and injured over 30 others on Bourbon Street during a New Year’s celebration. A small fire broke out at a suspected Airbnb property located in the 1300 block of ...
- Las Vegas: Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Hotel investigated as possible act of terrorism
January 1, 2025
A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Towers in Las Vegas killing at least one person is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation told CBS News. A person inside the vehicle died and seven others suffered minor injuries, police said. Two sources with knowledge of the ...
- Cambodia: First Police DNA laboratory inaugurated in Phnom Penh
December 26, 2024
The first National Police DNA laboratory was officially inaugurated in Phnom Penh yesterday, providing an important tool in solving crimes. The inauguration was presided over by National Police Chief General Sar Thet. Gen Thet said the DNA laboratory was established under close cooperation between the Police Technical and Scientific Department and the Cambodia-China Law Enforcement Cooperation ...
- Netherlands: Explosions and bomb threats investigated across Leiden, Sassenheim, and Voorhout
December 25, 2024
Authorities are investigating a series of explosions and the discovery of an explosive device in three Dutch towns over consecutive nights, raising concerns about public safety. Police have linked the incidents in Leiden, Sassenheim, and Voorhout, and are calling for witnesses to come forward. The first explosion occurred shortly after midnight on Saturday, Dec. 21, at ...
- India: Man uses IED in parcel to target ex-wife’s brother, injures relative
December 21, 2024
Panic gripped the Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad when a parcel exploded at a residence, leaving one person injured. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the blast was a result of a family feud. The explosion occurred at Shivam Row House around 10.45 am when a family member opened a parcel delivered earlier that morning. The blast injured ...
- ADF Specialised facility counters IED threats
December 20, 2024
Gallipoli Barracks was recently the scene for an inspection of one of the ADFs new level two counter-IED weapons technical intelligence (L2 WTI) laboratories being delivered by Project Land 154-2 in association with the Defence Science and Technology Group. Each L2 WTI facility is a self-contained containerised and deployable processing facility that allows ADF personnel to ...
- Jammu and Kashmir: Police hosts workshop on IED data management, post blast operation
December 18, 2024
A One-day training program on IED data management and post blast investigation was organized by Zonal Police Kashmir at PCR Kashmir in collaboration with officials of National Security Guards. The training program was inaugurated by IGP Kashmir & was attended by SSP Srinagar, SO to IGP Kashmir and other senior officers of Police Headquarters through virtual ...
- Ukraine: Explosion in Central Dnipro, one dead, police officers injured
December 14, 2024
Dnipro Oblast Police reported that one person was killed and several others injured in the explosion, including two police officers who were hospitalized. The explosion occurred on Dec. 14 at approximately 2:45 p.m. A police investigative team, explosives experts, a forensic laboratory, and other emergency services are working at the scene. Police also shared additional photos ...
- Exercise Solar Wind Vi 2024 – Post-Blast Investigations Exercise In Brunei
November 25, 2024
A post-blast investigations (PBI) training exercise codenamed “Exercise Solar Wind VI” was held in Brunei from 4 to 7 November 2024. The exercise was jointly conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), supported by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The ...
- Greece: Athens blast caused by home-made bomb, guerrillas suspected
November 1, 2024
A deadly explosion in an Athens apartment on Thursday was caused by a home-made bomb and authorities suspect it could be linked to local guerrilla groups, police and Greek officials said on Friday. Two guns, bullets, mobile phones and digital evidence have been confiscated from the site of the blast, which killed one man and seriously ...
- Utah: Kaysville Police called to detonate pipe bomb near school
October 20, 2024
The Kaysville Police Department responded to a call involving a homemade explosive near an elementary school Saturday afternoon, which ended up being a pipe bomb. The suspicious homemade firework or pipe bomb was located on the southeast side of Endeavour Elementary School. Due to the threat of denotation, police contacted the Davis County Bomb Squad to assess ...
- India: ‘Foul smell, crude bomb material’, what investigators found at Delhi CRPF School blast site
October 20, 2024
The Delhi police said on Sunday that they found a foul smell at the blast site outside CRPF School in the national capital. The blast destroyed the school’s wall and shattered window panes on its premises. The Delhi police said the forensic department and the Special Cell are on the spot. Anti-terror agency NIA has also ...
- Thailand: Three cars damaged in bombing of checkpoint in Yala
October 11, 2024
Southern insurgents threw a pipe bomb at a road checkpoint in Muang district of Yala province Thursday night, causing damage to three cars. None of the officers or defence volunteers at the checkpoint, on the out-bound lane, were injured. A car belonging to a police officer and two others, owned by villagers, sustained shrapnel damage. Reinforcements, led ...
- Northern Ireland: Hoax bomb accused takes legal action in bid to stop police accessing mobile phone material
September 26, 2024
A Co Tyrone man accused of buying parts for a hoax bomb left outside a police station is taking High Court action in a bid to stop detectives extracting messages and photos from his mobile phone. Sean Pearson claims the plans to obtain any information stored on devices seized during a raid on his home breaches ...
- Teaching art of Counter-IED: EU facility looks ahead after first decade
September 13, 2024
A deployable military facility to help counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is celebrating 10 years of operations in the Netherlands. First conceived during multinational land operations in Afghanistan, the Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) has trained more than 900 personnel from 14 European Union Member States. Now, the facility and its expertise could ...
- Cyprus: Police probe linked bomb attacks
September 9, 2024
Police are investigating a series of linked bomb attacks that have occurred in Nicosia, Larnaca, and Limassol in recent weeks. Investigators believe the same person is responsible for all four incidents, based on an analysis of improvised explosive devices found at the scenes. The latest device, which was defused safely, led to the arrest of a ...
- Ontario: IED Investigation in Niagara Falls – Update 1
September 6, 2024
This incident remains under investigation by officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) 2 District (Niagara Falls/Niagara on the Lake) detective office. Following the execution of a search warrant on Thursday September 5, 2024 at the home, a male was arrested and charged. 21-year-old Taha Sleiman is facing the following charges: – Make, Possess, Care, ...
- Jammu and Kashmir: Police To Strengthen Law Enforcement With 64,000 Investigation Kits and Bomb Disposal Vehicles
August 3, 2024
The Jammu and Kashmir Police are set to acquire more than 64,000 advanced investigation kits for police stations across the Union Territory, along with two specialised vehicles for the Bomb Disposal Squad, according to officials. The initiative aims to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement in the region. A senior police officer at Jammu ...