Alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, stashed an explosive powder in his underwear, according to reports. Photos posted Monday by ABC News shows a packet of pentaerythritol tetranitrate sewn into the crotch of the suspect’s beige briefs.
Made by the Germans and used in World War I, PETN is commonly used by terrorists because it’s powerful and easy to hide. It’s the same chemical shoe-bomber Richard Reid in his attempt to bring down an American Airlines eight years ago.
But as the so-called Christmas Day “Crotch Bomber” discovered, PETN is hard to detonate. He reportedly injected acid into the explosive with a syringe and instead of setting off an explosion, the liquid started a fire, scorching his underwear (below), melting the syringe and ultimately tipping off passengers of Northwest Flight 253 who helped subdue Abdulmutallab.