Shoe bombs capable of grave harm

Complex devices raise suspicion that suspect had accomplice

By Stephen Kurkjian, Globe Staff and Michele Kurtz Globe Correspondent, 12/25/2001

he shoes of the suspected suicide bomber subdued aboard an American Airlines flight Saturday contained alarmingly sophisticated, working bombs with enough explosive power to cause a disaster, law enforcement officials said yesterday.

In addition, a state official who asked not to be identified told the Globe that the bombs contained a complex mix of explosive materials that has raised questions about whether the suspect had assistance.

The alleged bomber, still tentatively identified as 28-year-old British national Richard C. Reid, appeared in federal court in Boston yesterday, amid growing concern about how he was able to board a flight in Paris apparently with enough explosives to bring down the plane.

''The gravity of the situation is becoming more and more serious as time goes on,'' the state official said.

Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles S. Prouty said the bomb ''would have resulted in significant damage.'' The quick thinking of the passengers and crew, who subdued the suspect in a frenzied melee, averted ''a major disaster,'' Prouty said.

Reid allegedly tried to light the tongue of one shoe with a match Saturday on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami before he was overpowered.

A preliminary examination of his black suede basketball sneakers found four or five ounces of explosive material packed in each one, as well as rope-like material known as detonator cord, the state official said.

The sneakers were hollowed out slightly on the inside to accommodate the explosive, with each one marked by drill holes from which a detonator cord emerged.

To explode the material under normal circumstances, a bomber must use a battery or blasting cap. The FBI, however, found that there was a substance blended with the explosive that would have caused it to detonate if it were exposed long enough to a sustained flame.

''The belief is now that if he had a lighter and not a match, the thing would have detonated,'' the official said. ''They're trying to find out as much as they can, as fast as they can about the guy.''

Chris Ronay, former head of the FBI's explosives unit and now president of the Institute of Makers of Explosives, said there are ingredients that can be added to explosive material that allow it to be detonated by an open flame.

FBI technicians in Washington are planning to duplicate the material and detonate it under laboratory conditions, the state official said.

Because of the complexity of concocting such an explosive, FBI agents believe that Reid must have had an accomplice, according to the state official.

Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said of Reid and the materials,

''He certainly didn't get them at the corner grocery store.''

Law enforcement officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as of yesterday, investigators had not uncovered any evidence linking Reid to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network or other terrorist groups.

And contrary to earlier reports, the state official said Reid had a round-trip ticket from Miami to Antigua for Saturday.

Reid, who officials said had a legitimate British passport, was ordered held in federal custody in Boston yesterday as investigators continued to try to nail down his identity and determine whether he acted alone.

His shoulder-length hair frizzy and matted, he lumbered into federal court yesterday morning in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles, looked around the room and took a seat alone at the defense table.

When US Magistrate Judge Judith Dein asked Reid if he understood that he was charged with interfering with a flight crew, an crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, he answered, ''Yeah.'' When asked, Reid requested a court-appointed lawyer.

Assistant US Attorney James Lang warned Dein that Reid was a flight risk and a danger to the public and urged her to hold him without bail. Dein did so and set a Friday detention hearing..

Before the hearing yesterday, Reid met with Kathy Tunsley, an officer with the British Consulate General in Boston.

''That would be our practice whenever there is someone who is British, or presumed to be British, charged with a serious crime,'' said Terri Evans, press officer for the consulate. ''What you want to ensure is that they are being treated fairly and as an American citizen would be treated.''

Reid, who's being held in the Plymouth County House of Correction, has been under 24-hour observation since Saturday night, said Mike Seele, spokesman for Sheriff Joseph F. McDonough. He was scheduled to undergo a medical and psychological exam yesterday. If a doctor finds that he is not a danger to himself, he'll be moved into the facility's maximum security unit, Seele said.

So far, Seele said Reid has been ''quiet'' and ''cooperative.''

''He does speak English well,'' Seele said. ''He speaks with an English accent, very fluently.''

Law enforcement officials said that, except for lengthy meetings with FBI agents yesterday, Reid was in 23-hour lockdown, segregated from other prisoners and allowed only one hour outside his cell to exercise.

The probe into his identity and possible links to terrorist groups, meanwhile, continued on both sides of the Atlantic as FBI agents compared notes with their counterparts in Britain's New Scotland Yard.

''The FBI is coordinating a very thorough and aggressive investigation,'' said Prouty. ''We're considering every possibility.'' Alison Clark, a spokeswoman for New Scotland Yard, declined to comment on the investigation, except to say that authorities there ''believe that he [Reid] is a British citizen.''

Other than that, little information emerged about Reid's identity. A report in the Mirror newspaper in London said birth records show a man with the same name and birth year had been born in East London. Published reports have also suggested that Reid is a native of Sri Lanka named Tariq Raja and that he has also used the alias Abdel Rahim.

A former US counterterrorism official yesterday said he believes authorities should look hard at whether Reid is connected to Al Qaeda or other groups.

''I doubt very much there is a lone person just trying to blow up a plane,'' said Vincent Cannistraro, former head of CIA counterterrorism.

Ralph Ranalli and Ellen Barry of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was also used.

-- Anonymous, December 25, 2001