Turkey has suspended sales of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers frequently used by terrorists to produce homemade explosive devices. The measure comes in the wake of latest deadly blasts targeting police and security forces across the country.
“As of yesterday, Turkey has banned the sale of fertilizers which could be used as explosives,” Agriculture Minister Faruk Celik said in press release. “So all sales of the fertilizer nitrate can no longer be carried out in Turkey.”
The decision to ban the sales of fertilizer until further notice follows a meeting of security chiefs Wednesday which took place in the wake of recent terrorist attacks that involved improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and which Ankara pinned on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Ammonium nitrate, a substance more typically used in agriculture, has become an object of terror. The chemical compound can be a powerful explosive when mixed with fuel. Ammonium nitrate accelerates the rate at which the fuel burns, producing a huge explosion. -RT
