OB Kenobi
06-25-2004, 12:36 AM
Some info about how they do it over there in Iraq...
Guerillas' simple devices use artillery shells, doorbells
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (AP) — The most feared weapon in the arsenal of Iraqi insurgents is simple to make, easy to set off, impossible to trace and deadly effective: an old artillery shell with a detonator and a doorbell attached to it.
What the U.S. military calls an improvised explosive device, or IED, shows how cunning guerrilla forces can be. The explosive can be buried in the side of the road, hidden in an old tire or even cast in concrete to look like a curbstone.
If placed in a car, they become what the military calls a VBIED, or vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or what most people call a car bomb. Several artillery shells can be packed in a four-door sedan, creating a bomb capable of levelling small buildings.
If working on the cheap, a telltale set of wires will emerge from where the insurgents hide the 155 mm artillery shells — but U.S. troops look for those now. So now the bombers have switched to a battery-operated, wireless doorbell that can be activated from a distance, allowing the bomber to avoid being seen.
"We've never caught anyone setting off an IED," said Lt.-Col. Tim Ryan, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment. ``We've caught people building them, or trying to place them, but never setting one off."
The parts needed to build a bomb are simple to obtain. Former ruler Saddam Hussein stockpiled millions of artillery and tank rounds. Just one ammo dump west of Baghdad was 10 kilometres long and three kilometres wide and contained one million explosive rounds.
U.S. forces, already stretched thin across Iraq, try to guard these huge fields of bunkers and warehouses, but the insurgents pay people to sneak in. The guerrillas get the explosive warhead while the thieves keep the brass shells, which fetch a high price as scrap metal, residents said.
The fields around the dump are littered with gunpowder and the threads of accelerant used to propel the explosive shells when they are fired. The debris is still dangerous, but of little use.
The wireless doorbell sets, which include a small push button that fits in the palm of a hand, can be purchased at any Iraqi hardware store.
According to their count, U.S. forces find and safely detonate most of the bombs, but several still hit their targets each day. The U.S. army has put up posters around bases to help soldiers learn how to spot the bombs, but the most effective prevention is to cut the number of U.S. patrols on the streets.
The insurgents, though, then take advantage of the absence to fire mortars at U.S. bases. Sheik Wadah Maliek el-Sayed described one attack at the U.S. base at Baghdad's main airport.
"Three cars came into the market, masked gunmen cleared out the area and then the mortarmen got out and fired four rounds." he said. "They got back into their cars and drove away. It's over in a few minutes."
Such attacks occur several times a week, usually with 60 mm or 82 mm mortars, but rarely hit anything significant. Several soldiers have been wounded in the last few months, but none was killed, soldiers said.
Now, the IEDs are taking a higher toll.
The U.S. air force regularly flies an EC-130 electronic warfare plane over important roads, transmitting a signal that detonates the bombs ahead of coalition forces. Some military vehicles have similar equipment, but it is uncommon, imperfect and expensive. Commanders in charge of security have to strike a balance.
"We can pull back," Ryan said. "But then they come with the mortars. It's usually one or the other."
Guerillas' simple devices use artillery shells, doorbells
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (AP) — The most feared weapon in the arsenal of Iraqi insurgents is simple to make, easy to set off, impossible to trace and deadly effective: an old artillery shell with a detonator and a doorbell attached to it.
What the U.S. military calls an improvised explosive device, or IED, shows how cunning guerrilla forces can be. The explosive can be buried in the side of the road, hidden in an old tire or even cast in concrete to look like a curbstone.
If placed in a car, they become what the military calls a VBIED, or vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or what most people call a car bomb. Several artillery shells can be packed in a four-door sedan, creating a bomb capable of levelling small buildings.
If working on the cheap, a telltale set of wires will emerge from where the insurgents hide the 155 mm artillery shells — but U.S. troops look for those now. So now the bombers have switched to a battery-operated, wireless doorbell that can be activated from a distance, allowing the bomber to avoid being seen.
"We've never caught anyone setting off an IED," said Lt.-Col. Tim Ryan, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment. ``We've caught people building them, or trying to place them, but never setting one off."
The parts needed to build a bomb are simple to obtain. Former ruler Saddam Hussein stockpiled millions of artillery and tank rounds. Just one ammo dump west of Baghdad was 10 kilometres long and three kilometres wide and contained one million explosive rounds.
U.S. forces, already stretched thin across Iraq, try to guard these huge fields of bunkers and warehouses, but the insurgents pay people to sneak in. The guerrillas get the explosive warhead while the thieves keep the brass shells, which fetch a high price as scrap metal, residents said.
The fields around the dump are littered with gunpowder and the threads of accelerant used to propel the explosive shells when they are fired. The debris is still dangerous, but of little use.
The wireless doorbell sets, which include a small push button that fits in the palm of a hand, can be purchased at any Iraqi hardware store.
According to their count, U.S. forces find and safely detonate most of the bombs, but several still hit their targets each day. The U.S. army has put up posters around bases to help soldiers learn how to spot the bombs, but the most effective prevention is to cut the number of U.S. patrols on the streets.
The insurgents, though, then take advantage of the absence to fire mortars at U.S. bases. Sheik Wadah Maliek el-Sayed described one attack at the U.S. base at Baghdad's main airport.
"Three cars came into the market, masked gunmen cleared out the area and then the mortarmen got out and fired four rounds." he said. "They got back into their cars and drove away. It's over in a few minutes."
Such attacks occur several times a week, usually with 60 mm or 82 mm mortars, but rarely hit anything significant. Several soldiers have been wounded in the last few months, but none was killed, soldiers said.
Now, the IEDs are taking a higher toll.
The U.S. air force regularly flies an EC-130 electronic warfare plane over important roads, transmitting a signal that detonates the bombs ahead of coalition forces. Some military vehicles have similar equipment, but it is uncommon, imperfect and expensive. Commanders in charge of security have to strike a balance.
"We can pull back," Ryan said. "But then they come with the mortars. It's usually one or the other."