CIA DISCOVERS TERRORISTS HAVE 'INVISIBLE BOMB'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100140044-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 13, 2012
• Sequence Number: 44
• Publication Date: August 8, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/13 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100140044-1
7
ItRT I Cyg
Ott PAGS,_~~
C~~4 ]Discovery
errorists ,~Ia~;.e
`Il~~~isible Bomb'
A hair-raising nets development.
hay occurred in the subterranean
~~wr ld of international terrorism. The
C1A has learned of the=invent,ion of
an "invisible bomb"-a secret, so-
phisticated -explosive .undetectable
b~~ standard bomb-searching tech-
niques. At least a dozen are believed
t.o be in the hands of terrorists.
The disturbing details are known
onh? to a few western inte)ligence
agencies. Sources ?with access to top-
secret. CI.A files on the "invisible
h~~mh" told my associate Dale Van -
Atta hrnv it was detected.
Last. spring, an :4rab courier vis-
ited a Geneva hotel that is party
cnvned h~? Jewish interests, but that.
is also frequented by Arabs. He -)eft.
behind a portable radio acid an in-
nncent-looking suitcase.
But at the last. minute, the cou-
rier, who was linked to a radical Pal-
estinian guerrilla group, got cold
leer. He contacted U.S. officials and
~~~.~~ steered t.u the CIA. The terrorist.
~~~uned that. he had left a bomb in
t}~~ hutei.
Thnu~h the CIA officials were
ske;Mica}, the~? notified the Swiss
aut.hurities, who sent a ?bomb squad
WA~HTNGTON PG~T
8 August 1983
to the hotel. The suitcase_ and radio- .-possible that one of them eras used
were picked up. for the bombing of the U.S. Embassy
The Swiss reported back to -the in Beirut.
CIA that the two items had been The potential of .this new terrorist
_sniffed repeatedly by their bomb-de- weapon is so alarming, my'sources
testing dogs and there was no exp}o- said, that none of the western intel-
rive in .either. The tip must be a ligence agencies privy to the -secret
hoax. - t ~ raised objections when one agency
,The .CIA's turncoat Arab- source set out to find. the bomb maker and
was questioned again. ~He insisted- eliminate him _and his lethal prod-
the suitcase was a bomb. With some' ucts "with extreme,prejudice." -_ . _
reluctance, the CIA asked the Swiss ~_` .- .- _.
to check again. ~ - __
They did. This time they discov'
ered'that-the Arab courier was right:'` - ` ? -
The suitcase was a. powerful bomb.
"It scared -the --- -out of the
Swiss;" bne source said. "It was so
sophisticated that no one ever found
one before."
The explosive was molded into
the cardboard of the - suitcase.
Though the .material did-have a .dis- '
tinctive smell, it was not any that
bomb dogs are,trained totletect.
The explosive power of the suit-
case materia} was judged .to be great-
er than C-4, the ?plastique" that is a _~
favorite of terrorist groups. ? One -
source said the Geneva hotel bomb
packed enough wallop to blow up a
seven-story building.
With new respect, the CIA gave
their Arab tipster an extensive in-
terrogation. Thev learned that. the
bomb maker was an Arab tvho was
living in Baghdad and had made at
-least a dozen of his "invisible
bombs.'' Some sources thought it.
~ Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/13 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100140044-1