Tuesday 21 May 2013

A Syrian Smorgasbord Of IEDs And UXO

As I've frequently said in the past it's generally a very bad idea to pick up UXO (unexploded ordnance) unless you are trained to do so, but as anyone who follows Syria knows this is advice that's rarely followed.  This following video shows a collection of UXO, some of which has been converted into IEDs (improved explosive devices)


Colonel Abu Hasan of Sawt Al-Haq Battalion, Jund Allah Brigade provides us with a guided tour of the items on show


First we have an OFAB 100-120, which Colonel Hasan incorrectly describes as "a vacuum bomb that can destroy an area of 500 meters".  An OFAB 100-120 is a high explosive fragmentation bomb, and first appeared in Syria when jets first started bombing Aleppo in late July 2012.


Next what I believe is the front end of a parachute retarded bomb, which Colonel Hasan describes as a "guided rocket that is fired by a fighter plane".


Next we have a collection of unexploded PTAB 2.5m cluster bomb submunitions, correctly identified by Colonel Hasan.


Next Colonel Hasan shows us what he calls "katyusha rockets", which are in fact S-8KO rockets, normally launcher from aircraft.  You can see the designation written on the rocket in the above picture.


From left to right we have the tail of a 122mm rocket, an artillery round, the tip of an artillery or tank round, and a mortar tail fin.


Here we have what Colonel Hasan correctly identifies as 122mm Sakr cluster rockets, with a box full of submunitions to the right.  As he notes later in the video the colourful ribbons of the submunitions are very appealing to any child who might come across them.  It's also interesting to note other versions of these submunitions that have been seen in Syria so far have come with white ribbons.  The ribbons are attached to the arming pin, so pulling a ribbon can result in a live munition arming, and detonating.

Next we have some IEDs they've put together using UXO.


These cluster bomb submunitions have had an fuze added to them, turning them into pipebombs.


Here the OFAB 100-120 shown earlier has had it's fuze replaced with an electrical detonator, which allows them to set it off remotely.


These are 4 cluster bomb tails that have been filled with explosives and turned into IEDs.


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DIY Weapons In Syria - The Mobile Mortar Battery
Unexploded Cluster Bomblets Repurposed As DIY Rocket Warheads
Unexploded Cluster Bomblets Repurposed As DIY Mortar Bombs
Unexploded Bombs Used In A Truck Bomb By Jabhat al-Nusra

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

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