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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| French search for stolen Semtex | French search for stolen Semtex |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| French anti-terrorist officers are searching for 28kg (61lb) of Semtex explosive missing from a depot in the suburbs of the city of Lyon. | French anti-terrorist officers are searching for 28kg (61lb) of Semtex explosive missing from a depot in the suburbs of the city of Lyon. |
| France's interior ministry confirmed an investigation was underway, saying the manager of the site had been suspended. | France's interior ministry confirmed an investigation was underway, saying the manager of the site had been suspended. |
| Semtex is a powerful explosive favoured by terrorist groups as it is odourless and difficult to detect. | |
| Police said detonators were also missing and that they are treating the theft "very seriously". | Police said detonators were also missing and that they are treating the theft "very seriously". |
| The depot, in a disused 19th century fort at Corbas, is used for storing explosives by a civil defence unit charged with the job of blowing up bombs and ammunition left over from the two world wars. | The depot, in a disused 19th century fort at Corbas, is used for storing explosives by a civil defence unit charged with the job of blowing up bombs and ammunition left over from the two world wars. |
| Police said the discovery that the Semtex was missing was made on Friday but admitted the explosives could have been taken up to a week ago. | Police said the discovery that the Semtex was missing was made on Friday but admitted the explosives could have been taken up to a week ago. |
| In a statement released late on Friday the interior ministry said there had been "security failings" which had made the theft possible. | In a statement released late on Friday the interior ministry said there had been "security failings" which had made the theft possible. |
| Police sources have declined to confirm a newspaper website report which said that the store had been unguarded. | Police sources have declined to confirm a newspaper website report which said that the store had been unguarded. |
| Semtex, which was first made in the Czech Republic, is used in mining and demolition work. | |
| A bomb containing about half a kilogram of the explosive caused the blast which brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1998, killing 270 people. |