Titadine

Titadyn 30 AG (often referred to as Titadine) is a type of compressed dynamite used in mining and manufactured in southern France by Titanite S.A. The explosive comes in the form of salmon-coloured tubes of a range of diameters, from 50 to 120 mm. It is very powerful and fast-burning, with an energy rating of 4650 J/g and a speed of detonation of over 6,000 m/s.

In recent years, it has been used in bomb attacks by the ETA terrorist group in Spain. In September 1999 a combined group of ETA members and Breton separatists raided a factory at Plevin, Brittany, stealing over eight tonnes of Titadyn (some of which was subsequently sold to the Islamist resistance group Hamas, according to Spain's "El Mundo" newspaperFact|date=February 2008 ). Another raid took place in March 2001 when an explosives factory near Grenoble in France was targeted and 1.6 tonnes of Titadyn was stolen. Much of it was later recovered by Spanish police in raids, or was used by ETA in car bomb attacks in Spanish cities.

Titadyn and the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks

Titadyn was initially thought to have been used to perpetrate the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/12/world/main605547.shtml] "The bombers used titadine, a kind of compressed dynamite also found in a bomb-laden van intercepted last month as it headed for Madrid, a source at Aznar's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Officials blamed ETA then, too."] [ [http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-11-03-2004/Nacional/los-terroristas-querian-volar-dos-trenes-dentro-de-la-estacion-de-atocha_962387243471.html] "El análisis de un artefacto colocado junto a una valla de la estación de El Pozo y explosionado por la Policía ha podido determinar que el explosivo estaba compuesto por una mezcla de unos cinco kilos de titadine y nitroglicerina considerada "típica de ETA" ]

The Spanish newspaper "El Mundo" claimed on July 11, 2006 that Goma-2 ECO was not used in the attacks.

References

External links

* [http://www.titanite.fr/produit.cgi?NOM=DYNAMITES%20GOMMES Titanite A.G. - Titadyn 30 AG factsheet]
* [http://www.abc.es/informacion/pdf/informe-11-M.pdf Last report of explosives used the 11-M]