Titadyn 30 AG (often referred to as Titadine) is a type of compressed
dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
used in mining and manufactured in southern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
by
Titanite
Titanite, or sphene (), is a calcium titanium nesosilicate mineral, Ca Ti Si O5. Trace impurities of iron and aluminium are typically present. Also commonly present are rare earth metals including cerium and yttrium; calcium may be partly rep ...
S.A. The explosive comes in the form of
salmon
Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
-coloured tubes of a range of diameters, from 50 to 120 mm. Titadine is very powerful and fast-burning, with an energy rating of 4650 J/g and a speed of detonation of over 6,000 m/s.
It was used in bomb attacks by the separatist group
ETA
Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. In September 1999 a combined group of ETA members and
Breton separatists raided a factory at
Plevin,
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, stealing over eight tonnes of Titadyn, some of which was subsequently sold to the
Islamist resistance group
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, according to Spain's ''
El Mundo'' newspaper.
Another raid took place in March 2001 when an explosives factory near
Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
in France was targeted and 1.6 tonnes of Titadyn was stolen. Much of it was later recovered by Spanish police in raids, or was used by ETA in car bomb attacks in Spanish cities.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Last report of explosives used the 11-M
Explosives