Thousands of explosions occurred one after another, shaking Lebanon. These explosions occurred in Peger. Hezbollah fighters used to communicate through these pagers. Israel was considered responsible for these explosions.
In fact, relations between Israel and Hezbollah have been very tense since the attack on October 7 last year. Hezbollah is active in Lebanon and Israel considers it a terrorist organization. Israel claims that Iran supports Hezbollah.
Regarding the explosion on Tuesday, it is understood that a message first came on a pager, causing a buzzing sound, and within seconds the explosion occurred. The pager was in someone’s hand, someone in his pocket, and someone was talking to it. It is understood that explosives were hidden next to the pager battery. The explosion was caused by the increase in battery temperature.
The explosive used to explode in these pagers is called PETN, which stands for pentaerythritol tetranitrate. It is a plastic explosive. It is very difficult to detect. It is understood that these pagers used 20 grams of PETN.
How did this all happen?
Hezbollah bought these pagers just a few months ago. Hezbollah fighters use pagers because they are difficult to track.
According to the New York Times, Hezbollah has ordered 3,000 pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. However, the Taiwanese company said the pagers were made by a European company.
A source with ties to Hezbollah told AFP that a thousand pagers had recently arrived and that explosions had occurred inside them. He also said that these were a new type of pagers that Hezbollah had never used before.
It is understood that PETN was installed in the pagers before they were delivered to Hezbollah. Israel’s spy agency Mossad had placed PETN next to the pager batteries, which heated up on Tuesday, causing the explosion.
Also read: Hezbollah knew about Israel’s plan, rushed to carry out pager attack… Read – Inside Story
How is PETN different?
PETN is a chemical that, when combined with plasticizers, forms plastic explosives. It is considered the most powerful and dangerous of the plastic explosives. It is difficult to detect.
This is quite powerful. PETN is considered to be more powerful than TNT. This is because it takes 1.24 kg of TNT to produce the same amount of explosion as 1 kg of PETN.
Not only that, PETN is more stable than other explosives, so there is little chance of it suddenly exploding. When it does detonate, it can cause a lot of damage.
It can be easily hidden in anything. Even a very small amount can be deadly. For example, Hezbollah’s pager contained only 20 grams of PETN, but its explosion caused great damage.
PETN was originally produced by a German explosives company. The German government began production in 1912. The German military used PETN in World War I.
How does Mossad keep PETN in its pagers?
Israel and its intelligence agency, Mossad, have been accused of being responsible for the pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria, but so far neither Israel nor Mossad has denied or accepted the allegations.
Sky News Arabia cited a source as saying the pagers had fallen into Israeli hands before reaching Hezbollah. The source said Mossad had stuffed the batteries of the pagers with PETN.
This year, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for an end to the use of cell phones because Israel could track them. Since then, Hezbollah fighters have increased their use of pagers. Subsequently, Hezbollah ordered 3,000 pagers.
Mikko Hypponen, a cybercrime expert, told The New York Times that the explosion suggested the pager’s design may have been tampered with.
Also read: Someone’s hands and someone’s legs were blown off, someone’s eyes and someone’s torso… This is the damage caused by thousands of pager explosions!
Terrorists also like PETN
In a way, PETN is a “small packet, big bang”. Even in small quantities, it can cause huge damage. PETN is an explosive that has also been the choice of terrorists. It has been used in many terrorist attacks in the past.
In 1980, a bomb exploded outside a synagogue in Paris. This explosion used 10 kg of PETN. In 1983, a terrorist used 24 kg of PETN to attack Berlin.
In 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist Richard Reed attempted to use PETN to blow up an American plane flying from Paris to Miami. Richard stuffed the soles of his shoes with PETN. Fortunately, his plan failed.
Similarly, in 2009, al-Qaeda suicide bomber Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri attempted to assassinate Saudi government minister Mohammed bin Nayef. The suicide bomber was killed in this attack, while Nayef survived. PETN was also used in this attack.
On December 25, 2009, 80 grams of PETN were seized from the underwear of al-Qaeda terrorist Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Abdulmutallab planned to blow up a plane from Detroit to Amsterdam. He also tried. Fortunately, no major explosion occurred.
Also in October 2010, Al-Qaeda conspired with PETN to blow up a US plane. Al-Qaeda then filled two printer cartridges with PETN. One cartridge contained 300 grams of PETN and the other 400 grams. However, they were tracked down before the incident could happen.
Even in India, terrorists have used PETN to plot attacks. In July 2017, 150 grams of PETN was recovered from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
Terrorists use PETN because it is difficult to detect. X-ray machines and sniffer dogs cannot easily detect it.
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