Ammonium perchlorate (AP) – an oxidiser used in solid rocket fuels – is a crucial ingredient but can be difficult to source.

Currently, 47 percent of roadside bombs are made with ammonium nitrate fertilizer, with about ten percent using old shells and bombs from the 1980s and the rest potassium chlorate. Over the last few ...

May 30, 2013: A year ago NATO and Afghan forces were seizing an average 60 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer a month. That was twice as much as 2011. This was part of an effort to deny the Taliban ...

"It's much, much easier," Sweetser said. It's also cheaper. A 110-pound bag of ammonium nitrate costs $160 in Afghanistan; the same-size bag of potassium chlorate goes for $48, according to JIEDDO.