Explosives in Paris attacks described as ‘very unstable’

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins says the attackers in Friday night’s coordinated, deadly assaults used the explosive TATP, which has been called the “mother of Satan” because of its volatility.

TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, is an improvised explosive that also was used in the 2005 London bombings that killed 52 commuters.

The US government’s National Counterterrorism Center lists TATP as a common explosive and describes it as “relatively easy to synthesize.” Experts have said that tracing the materials used to make the explosive can be difficult because they are so readily available in stores.

The counterterrorism center’s website describes the explosive as a mixture of “hydrogen peroxide and acetone with the addition of an acid, such as sulfuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acid.”

It says TATP “can be very unstable and sensitive to heat, shock and friction.”

–AP