FBI probe shows amount of chemicals in Beirut blast was a fraction of original shipment

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the site of the August 4 explosion at Beirut port, Lebanon February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

(Reuters) - The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.

As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - which can be used to make fertiliser or bombs - was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years.