DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers in Mali discovered an enormous cache of explosives while on patrol near Kidal, the troubled northern city that was the birthplace of last year’s Tuareg rebellion and which continues to be at the heart of the country’s conflict.

A statement issued Monday by the U.N. mission said peacekeepers discovered the 5.7 metric tons of ammonium nitrate and around 40 grenades during patrols in late September in the Kidal region. Spokesman Olivier Salgado said the quantity of ammonium nitrate found could be used to make between 20 to 25 suicide car bombs. An ammonium nitrate bomb was used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

There have been numerous suicide attacks in Kidal. The most recent on Dec. 14 killed two Senegalese peacekeepers.

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