Course Title: EXPLOSIVES AND POST BLAST RESIDUE ANALYSIS

Course Code: FSIC227

Bsc Forensic , Semester 4, Batch 2021

Name – Anjana Viswanathan
Aud – 9082
Case study – Bali
Bombing 2005

i The Bambi bombing took place on 12th October 2002 in the district of
Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali

i 202 people were killed in this attack.
o
i 88 Australians
o
I 38 Indonesians
o i 23 Britons
o
i and people of more than 20 other nationalities

Various members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a violent Islamist group, were
i I

convicted in relation to the bombings, including three individuals who I

were sentenced to death. The attack involved the detonation of three I

bombs: a backpack-mounted device carried by a suicide bomber; a

large car bomb, both of which were detonated in or near popular I

nightclubs in Kuta; and a third much smaller device detonated outside

Ithe United States consulate in Denpasar, causing only minor damage. I

An audio-cassette purportedly carrying a recorded voice message from I

Osama bin Laden stated that the Bali bombings were in direct I

retaliation for support of the United States' War on Terror and I

Australia's role in the liberation of East Timor.


Initial reports from that night started with a suggestion that gas
I I

cylinders had exploded. Stories of confusion, panic and destruction I

were relayed back to Australia. Two Australian Federal Police (AFP) I

forensic officers travelling to Jakarta were redirected to the scene to I

make an assessment. They revealed monstrous basic harm, consuming I

engine vehicles furthermore, structures, crisis faculty battling to adapt

and an enormous hole in the roadway outside the Sari Club. They Ii
I

quickly saw the truth about the scene and started a full police I

examination, which got known as Operation Union.

i
Events that took place

1. It is estimated that the Paddy’s Bar explosion involved between 1

Ii I

and 5 kg of TNT contained within five lengths of PVC pipe of 50

i I I

mm diameter sewn into a tartan lined black vest worn by the

suicide bomber.
2. Tiny fragments of tartan fabric were recovered from sites surrounding
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the blast epicentre. Numerous pieces of metal were also found

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amongst the debris and these were found to match fragments I

recovered from living and deceased victims. Connective tissue and I

spatter marks were visible on the ceiling above the epicentre.

3. The common organic high explosive (HE) known as trinitrotoluene
I I

(TNT) was identified in this material.

4. The notable absence of a crater and extrapolation of spatter indicated
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the position of the bomb to be between 80 and 120 cm above the floor.
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This was the first evidence to indicate the involvement

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I of a suicide bomber.
5. Later, analysis of this biological material revealed that it had all come
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from the one individual. A dismembered head and two lower legs were
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found amongst various body parts at the morgue.

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6. The second and largest device was detonated at the nearby Sari Club at 11:08 pm,
i

15 s after the Paddy’s Bar explosion.It is estimated that over 350 people were in the
I

club at this time. The force of the blast was so strong that it registered on
I I I I iiiiiiiiiiii

seismographs in neighbouring countries. It is estimated that an improvised explosive II

mixture with an estimated powerequivalent of 150 kg of TNT had been used.

7. Exhaustive analyses revealed the presence of the chlorate ion in and around the
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crater. When arrested the offenders stated the bomb was made from a mixture of
potassium chlorate, sulphur and aluminium, boosted by TNT.
I

8. It is now believed that the improvised explosive mixture, more than 1 tonne in
i I

total, was contained in 12 four-drawer plastic filing cabinets interconnected with I

detonating chord which is made from another organic high explosive known as I

pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). This device was placed in the back of a I

Mitsubishi L300 van and parked outside the Sari Club. It was also initiated by a I

suicide bomber. Remarkably, some fragments from this individual survived the blast
and were used to establish his identity through DNA analysis.
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9. The third bomb, referred to in the media as the “USA Consulate
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Bomb”, was detonated about 10 km away on a public street near the II

Unites States and Australian Consulates.

10. It was made from a relatively small amount of TNT and was initiated
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I remotely using a mobile phone about 45 s after the Sari Club bomb. No
I i injuries were caused by this bomb, however this site was important as

it was rich in physical evidence.

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Explosives used for bali bombing


ITrinitrotoluene or more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, is a chemical I

compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. This yellow solid is I

sometimes used as a reagent in chemical synthesis, but it is best II

known as an explosive material with convenient handling properties. II

The explosive yield of TNT is considered to be the standard measure I

Iof bombs and the power of explosives. In chemistry, TNT is used to II

generate charge transfer salts.

Explosive character

II Upon detonation, TNT undergoes a decomposition equivalent to the reaction

 2 C7H5N3O6 → 3 N2 + 5 H2 + 12 CO + 2 C
I I plus some of the reactions


II H2 + CO → H2O + C and 2CO → CO2 + C.


TNT can be detonated with a high velocity initiator or by
I efficientII

concussion. For many years, TNT used to be the reference point for the II

Figure of Insensitivity. TNT had a rating of exactly 100 on the "F of I" scale.II

The reference has since been changed to a more sensitive explosive called
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RDX, which has an F of I rating of 80.


Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, PENTA, TEN,
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corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as

nitropenta), is an explosive material. It is the nitrate ester of
Ii II

pentaerythritol, and is structurally very similar to nitroglycerin. Penta I

I refers to the five carbon atoms of the neopentane skeleton. PETN is I

Ia powerful explosive material with a relative effectiveness factor of I

1.66.When mixed with a plasticizer, PETN forms a plastic explosive. I
Along with RDX it is the main ingredient of Semtex.
Detection and analysis


Various methods can be used to detect TNT, including optical and electrochemical
I I

sensors and explosive-sniffing dogs. In 2013, researchers from the Indian Institutes of
Technology using noble-metal quantum clusters could detect TNT at the
I (10−18
sub-I zeptomolar

mol/m3) level.

IMany technologies can be used to detect PETN, including chemical sensors, X-rays, I

infrared, microwaves and terahertz , some of which have been implemented in

public screening applications, primarily for air travel. PETN is one of the explosive
I II

chemicals typically of interest in that area, and it belongs to a family of common II

nitrate-based explosive chemicals which can often be detected by the same tests.


IOne detection system in use at airports involves analysis of swab samples obtained II

from passengers and their baggage. Whole-body imaging scanners that use radio-I I frequency I

electromagnetic waves, low-intensity X-rays, or T-rays of terahertz frequency that can

detect objects hidden under clothing are not widely used because of cost, concerns
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about the resulting traveler delays, and privacy concerns.

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Thank you