Berlin police are seeking an unidentified man who they tried to subject to a stop and search on the platform at Neukölln S-Bahn (mass rapid transit railway) on Wednesday afternoon, but who resisted and managed to escape.
The man fled by jumping across the tracks, it is reported, but officers managed to grab onto his pack, which he released to get away. On inspection, it was discovered he had been carrying explosives in the bag.
Bomb squad officers discovered a drinks bottle wrapped in wire containing 500g (17½ ounces) of TATP explosives, along with a further quantity of cables and a believed stolen-in-2022 Polish citizen identity card.
TATP is highly unstable and prone to exploding if handled roughly, suggesting the suspect in this case fleeing on foot and dropping a bag containing the explosive without it setting off was a lucky escape for pursuing officers and the wider public. What was said to be an attempted terror attack by a Ukrainian extremist in France earlier this year was averted, apparently at the last moment, after the would-be alleged perpetrator accidentally blew himself up in an airport hotel room, it was reported at the time.
…the explosive was of the ‘TATP’ (Triacetone-Triperoxide) type made with acetone, favoured by terrorists in Europe because the ingredients are widely and legally available. The downside is TATP is extremely unstable and consequently dangerous to handle, and even a small disturbance can cause it to explode, leading to terror groups like the Islamic State naming it “Mother of Satan”.
The explosive has been used in terrorist attacks and in planned terror attacks again and again, but it is also known to be in use with robbery gangs blowing up cash machines.
Normally when police discover eexplosives, they are taken outside of the city to be destroyed. In this case because TATP is so unstable, the device was taken toa nearby city park, buried, and then detonated on Wednesday night. The blast could reportedly be heard through Berlin.
Police said in their statement that ” It is still unclear why the man was carrying explosives. The ongoing investigations – in particular the search measures to identify and arrest the escaped man with the evaluation of video recordings – are ongoing”.
Berlin’s Neukölln district has developed something of a reputation for crime. As previously reported of the neighbourhood:
well known for being both heavily migrant-settled and as being a centre of strength for German left-wing extremists, who call themselves Antifa. In some cases… violence in Neukölln manifests itself on strictly religious lines, and in others as cultural difference.
The area has become infamous to a certain degree recently, however, as migrant riots took place on New Year’s Eve into 2023, with widespread damage across the area. The way Germany responded to these events became a scandal itself, as broadcasters were accused of trying to cover up the violence, with the immigration background to the riots subject played down in reports.