FBI investigation reveals Beirut blast was only a fraction of the shipment. Where’s the rest?

FBI investigation reveals Beirut blast was only a fraction of the shipment. Where's the rest?

The FBI has revealed that the amount of ammonium nitrate used last year to blow up part of Beirut port was only ⅕ of the original amount of the shipment unloaded there in 2013.

As the August 4 anniversary approaches, major questions remain unanswered, including why and how a large quantity of ammonium nitrate — which can be used to make fertilisers or bombs — was left unsafely in a capital city for years. 

The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, killing more than 200 people, wounding thousands, and devastating large portions of Beirut. 

The FBI’s Oct. 7, 2020 report, which was seen by Reuters this week, estimates around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded that day, much less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship in 2013.

So, what happened to the rest?

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