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What is ‘Mother of Satan,’ dangerous homemade explosive used in the botched Gracie Mansion bombing?
In New York City, two extremists trained by ISIS were arrested for allegedly throwing a homemade bomb at protesters.
New York City narrowly avoided a disaster this past weekend when two extremists, who were trained by ISIS, allegedly threw a live explosive at a group of protestors outside Gracie Mansion. According to the New York Post, they used a device — a homemade bomb containing the notorious "Mother of Satan" explosive, which can potentially kill anyone nearby upon detonation.
Experts say that TATP, known as the “Mother of Satan”, is preferred by terrorists due to its low cost, lethality, and the frightening ease with which it can be manufactured using materials obtained from ordinary hardware stores.
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Suspects identified as Ibraham Kayumi, Emir Balat
Law enforcement has identified the suspects as Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18 — self-radicalized extremists who, according to sources within the police, had deeply engaged with ISIS propaganda and traveled through recognized terror-training centers in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.
Following their arrest, they both confessed that their actions were driven by anger, asserting that right-wing demonstrators had “insulted their religion,” sources stated.
The brawl took place outside the mayor’s official residence on Saturday afternoon when right-wing provocateur Jake Lang organized an anti-Muslim protest, as per The Post. The demonstration rapidly descended into disorder as counter-protesters surged into the street. Amidst the chaos of flying fists and chants, police reported that an explosive-laden sports drink bottle, wrapped in tape, was hurled through the air towards Lang’s group — a bottle filled with triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the same substance utilized in lethal terror attacks throughout Europe.
Mother of Satan is designed to maim and kill
Speaking to The Post, an investigator said, “It’s designed to maim and kill. This is just luck no one is dead." Officers swiftly intervened and secured the device before its detonation, later verifying that it was significantly more perilous than initial reports suggested. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that her bomb squad concluded it is “not a hoax device or smoke bomb.”
“It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” she stated. “I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD, who ran towards danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects.”
As chaos erupted, video recordings documented several confrontations, resulting in six arrests — which included both alleged bombers and Ian McGinnis, a right-wing demonstrator accused of using pepper spray against the opposing group. Meanwhile, Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced Lang’s event as "white supremacist," asserting that New York "has no room for hate."
Investigation underway
Federal and city investigators are currently collaborating on the case. On Sunday, search warrants were executed at the suspects’ residences in Pennsylvania, where a suspicious bottle resembling the initial device was discovered inside a Hyundai associated with one of the suspects. This item was safely neutralized. Both suspects are anticipated to be transferred to federal custody, with the bomb undergoing additional analysis at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
