My first thought is that Beirut has always been a transit point for arms and munitions going all over the middle east to fuel the wars there. Any number of factions could have been pissed enough to shut down the supply the best way they knew how- plant a bomb in a ship loaded with weapons at the docks where they bring them in- destroying the weapons and crippling the port so it can't be used for some time into the future...
This doesn't have the smell of the Israelis IMO- far too much collateral damage for an Israeli operation. They seem to like clean, untraceable or small, precise attacks that make a point without the fallout of purposely killing innocent civilians... collateral damage doesn't serve their purposes well....
Somebody in the middle east is sitting back and enjoying a cigar for a successful operation to destroy an opponent's weapons delivery- but which of the dozens of factions there vying for power? It may be a while before we know, but I wouldn't put it past some of the factions like ISIS to claim responsibility for it even if they had nothing to do with it- just for the terror and recruiting factor....
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability.
On May 27, 1983, at approximately 9:15 AM, eleven workers were on duty when a cache of M-80 and M-100 explosives, flash powder, and other chemicals in the barn detonated, producing a powerful explosion and instantly killing all eleven workers and leveling the barn.[11] The initial blast was followed over the next several minutes by several smaller blasts which witnesses described as sounding like shotguns, believed to have been from individual firework cases which were not detonated initially.[12] Dan Lee Webb's cousin Tommy Lee Webb, who was mowing the grass near the site, was reported to have been thrown more than 70 yd (64 m).[12] The blast also threw debris as far as 200 yards (180 m) from the site, and produced a shock wave that leveled trees as far as 100 yards (91 m) away.[1] The force of the blast shattered windows in several homes and other structures on nearby properties, which reportedly resulted in some neighbors receiving minor cut wounds.[7] Bodies were hurled through the roofs of the nearby house and carport and as far away as 500 feet from the site.[1] Nothing in the barn was left intact; all of the bodies had lost limbs and six were decapitated.[11] Some were stripped by the force of the blast.[11]
Several witnesses claimed to have seen a white mushroom cloud which was estimated to be 600 to 800 feet tall, and the blast was heard and felt in Cleveland over 20 miles (32 km) away.[11] Several 911 calls were received moments after the initial blast, and within minutes, several police units arrived at the scene. Webb's wife Linda Sue, who was in the house at the time, fled before deputies arrived.[2] Tommy Lee Webb, who was critically injured, was taken to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga with burns to about 35 percent of his body.[12] Crews from the ATF and TBI arrived later to investigate the cause of the explosion.[1] A Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) crew, which included forensic anthropologist William M. Bass of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, later arrived on the scene to identify the victims.[12]
It’s being reported that it was 6 million pounds of ammonium nitrate that had been left unsecured in the warehouse next to the fireworks factory for the last six years. It’s hard to believe that much fertilizer was left sitting around unused but it would account for the size of the explosion. The fireworks plant exploded and the fire got to the fertilizer next door and set it off.
‘TO LEARN WHO RULES OVER YOU, SIMPLY FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE’
Conspiracy theorists are the ones who see it all coming…
Read on another site that the red color of that cloud after the explosion is indicative of an ammonium nitrate detonation. Can anyone confirm that?
Nitrogen Dioxide is what you’re seeing. Yes, very common gas that is generated from nitrate based explosives. Indicates the explosive was over oxidized, ie. Not enough fuel to completely consume the oxidizer. It’s heavier than air and will kill you dead in a matter of minutes in doses as low as 200 ppm. Nasty stuff!
