Images: Al Qaeda Documents Reveal Depths of Terror


Documents and journals discovered near a suspected al Qaeda home in Kabul contained hand-written notes on how to make RDX, the basic chemical found in high explosives like Semtex and C-4.


Inside the Arabic manual titled “Super Bombs” were the words “nuclear fission” and “isotopes” written in English.


The documents were found in multiples—photocopied, carbon-copied and duplicated for training and practical purposes.


CNN experts extensively analyzed the documents and discovered that the al Qaeda program “appears to have existed for a long time,” though none reveal if the terrorist group has tried to build nuclear weapons.


The terrorists’ handbooks were reportedly for more than 20,000 volunteers who attended Osama bin Laden’s training camps.


A list of 64 different chemicals for making explosives described what was in the chemicals and where to find them.


Documents also revealed how to detonate several charges—blowing up multiple targets.


Diagrams of how to detonate targets like bridges, railroads and buildings were included in the training manuals.


CNN’s experts believe the terrorists tested the formulas and developed a procedure of making the high explosives.


CNN’s experts compared the information on high explosives in the al Qaeda documents to the Internet and found al Qaeda’s was “more polished.”

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