Potential Use of Touch DNA in Terrorism Cases: A Report of Four Cases

The Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the few countries that has significant numbers of terrorist investigations, which has allowed our scientists to develop expertise in the forensic examination of post and pre-blast explosive exhibits. This paper presents a review of forensic investigations into improvised explosive device (IED) cases in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 2011. A total of four IED investigations were reviewed (i.e Directionally focused charges (DFC), Directional Focused Fragmentation Charge (DFFC) and Explosively formed penetrator/ projectiles (EFP). DNA recovery utilized different collection methods, such as swabbing, tape lifting, wiping and direct cutting of certain separated parts of the IEDs. Samples were extracted and purified with magnetic beads chemistry and quantified. Low copy DNA extracts were subjected to different concentration steps, and DNA extracts were amplified and processed for detection to obtain reliable results. Using the results of the study, we have developed the concept of Forensic DNA Intelligence, which involves the extraction of human cells deposited in low copy number in challenging areas within the evidence which can lead to significant results. This article will be very useful and informative to assist the forensic community in terrorism cases applications worldwide. Continued efforts must be made to re-evaluate standard operating protocols with empirical studies.