The terrorists who launched a series of suicide bombings and shootings in Paris Friday used Kalashnikov-type weapons and nearly identical explosive devices, the Paris prosecutor said Saturday.
The explosive waistcoats and belts used the explosive TATP and contained identical batteries and push-button detonators, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters.
TATP is an explosive that can be made from nail polish remover, hair bleaching products and acid.
So-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid was convicted of attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight in 2001 using TATP concealed in his shoes.
The three suicide bombers who struck near the Stade de France used explosives that contained bolts in order to maximize casualties, Molins said. A suicide bomber also blew himself up at a café.
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The suicide bombings outside the stadium, and shootings at cafes and a concert hall killed at least 129 people and injured more than 350 others — 99 of whom are in “highly critical condition,” Molins said.
Molins said the death toll could rise because of the serious nature of some of the injuries.
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Investigators have positively identified a 29-year-old as one of the gunmen who stormed the Bataclan, Molins said. The identification was made by a fingerprint, he said.
Authorities had investigated the suspect in 2010 for radicalization but the attacker had never been known to be associated with terrorist offenders, he said.
The U.S. government's Army Threat Integration Center conducted an analysis after a bystander said he was saved by his cell phone after shrapnel from one of the bombs struck the device.
The ATIC said the assessment suggests a trained explosives expert "capable of producing the explosive belts used in the attacks" may be present in France or elsewhere in Western Europe.
