PETN-laced batteries found in Lebanon walkie-talkie explosion

According to Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, the explosive material PETN was integrated into the battery pack, making it extremely difficult to detect. Hundreds of walkie-talkies and pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded over two consecutive days, killing 37 people and injuring more than 3,000 others.

The walkie-talkie explosion on September 18 alone killed 20 people and injured 450 in the suburbs of Beirut and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

ICOM CEO Yoshiki Enomoto introduces the discontinued IC-V82 radio model during an interview in Osaka, Japan, on September 19, 2024.

Images of the exploded walkie-talkie show the label reading "ICOM" and "made in Japan." Lebanon said the walkie-talkie used in the incident was a discontinued IC-V82 model from the Japanese company ICOM.

However, ICOM company confirmed that they stopped producing IC-V82 radio models a decade ago and most of the models currently circulating on the market are counterfeit.

ICOM director Yoshiki Enomoto told Reuters it was possible that an old ICOM device had been modified to make the bomb. Enomoto told Japan's Fuji TV that it would be difficult to insert an explosive device into the main compartment of the radio, adding that the explosives were likely contained in the removable battery pack.

A Lebanese source familiar with the matter said the explosions occurred even after the battery was separated from the rest of the device. Reuters had previously reported that the pagers were implanted with about 3 grams of explosives, making them difficult to detect.

Separately, Taiwanese investigators on September 20 questioned two people from companies on the island in connection with the explosive pagers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon. According to AFP, Taiwanese investigators also searched four locations, including Xizhi in New Taipei City, where Gold Apollo is headquartered, and Neihu in Taipei, where Apollo Systems is headquartered.

Earlier, the New York Times cited US officials as reporting that Israel may have planted explosives in a shipment of pagers from Taiwan's Gold Apollo company.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-pin-tam-chat-petn-trong-vu-no-loat-bo-dam-o-li-bang-185240920183232634.htm