Posted on 09/13/2004 4:20:30 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Members of Shura Council of Mujahedeen show US army’s remote-controlled drone that they shot down in Fallujah, Iraq, on Sunday. (AP Photo)
US military has reported no such loss near the embattled Iraqi city.
“In proud Fallujah, thanks be to God, a spying American plane was shot down,'' said a statement signed by the Tawhid and Jihad group and posted on the Internet on Monday. The message's authenticity could not be confirmed, but it appeared on a Website known for carrying statements by Islamic militant groups.
Tawhid and Jihad is linked to the al-Qaeda terror network and led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It claimed responsibility for the series of attacks on US and Iraqi government targets on Sunday, one of the heaviest days of fighting in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein last year.
On Sunday, a previously unknown group, the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Iraq, claimed to have shot down a US. Marine drone near Fallujah in a video tape broadcast on Al-Arabiya satellite television.
Neither claim said when the drone was downed.
The US military has not reported the loss of any drone in Iraq in recent days. But Associated Press Television News filmed people dancing in Fallujah's streets on Sunday, holding what appeared to be pieces of an aircraft bearing the word “Marines.''
The US military did not provide any information.
In its Monday statement, Tawhid and Jihad boasted that it fired about 400 rockets at 50 targets on Sunday, when at least 60 people died in Iraq – 37 in Baghdad alone.
Some of the casualties were inflicted when a US helicopter fired on a crowd cheering around a disabled US armoured vehicle in Baghdad.
“For the first time, there was no failure in the firing or targeting of any rocket, which is a precedent, thanks be only to God,'' the message said.
The statement hailed Sunday's offensive as a “blessed battle'' that “humiliated the infidels.'' It took responsibility for attacks in Fallujah and Ramadi, two cities west of Baghdad.
Tawhid and Jihad, which means monotheism and holy war, has been at the forefront of the opposition to the U.S.-led forces in Iraq and has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and beheading of several foreigners.
US authorities consider its leader, al-Zarqawi, to be an ally of al-Qaida commander Osama bin Laden but say he runs his own terrorist operation.
Q: How many Al Queda fighters does it take to vanquish the Crusader's toy airplane?
A: Zero. It was tangled in the string of one of Mikey Moore's happy kite flying Iraqi children.
That was my thought when I first saw the photo - these guys look like a bunch of idiots gathered around this thing. I wondered if they were going to take out a sword and threaten to cut off one of the wings if we didn't leave Iraq immediately.
I sure hope so
They should build in a self destruct mechanism into these things but I suppose it might be to dangerous.
Wonder if any kind of locating transmitter is aboard and still active?That's what I thought of. Maybe we should start launching some cheap, easy-to-shoot-down versions, just for that purpose.
I did a quick google search and didn't find anything that looks like the photo.
The closest I came is
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ilcdover.com/EngineeredInfl/ImagesAndFiles/apteron.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.ilcdover.com/EngineeredInfl/UAV.htm&h=260&w=343&sz=26&tbnid=FnfIBVpFHWsJ:&tbnh=87&tbnw=114&start=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522UAV%2522%26start%3D120%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chrisgood.com/uav/images/yb-49_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chrisgood.com/uav/UAV_Page.html&h=450&w=600&sz=47&tbnid=ZommGe3jsRkJ:&tbnh=99&tbnw=132&start=160&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522UAV%2522%26start%3D140%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN
For more I'd recomend FAS (Federation of American Scientists)
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/uav.htm
Initiate arming sequence....
Drone starts shouting in Arabic, "I'm a 30-second bomb! I'm a 30-second bomb! 29! 28..."
Anyone know anything about this?
I was thinking the same thing...
"Akhmed, Mohammed, Abdul...come over here and look at this drone we shot down. Praise be to Allah by the way. Hey, this thing has a device in it that looks a lot like high explosive. Let's check it ou..."
The "U.S. Army" spy plane with the "MARINES" label on the top of the right wing.
Mr. Heinlein, I presume?
I hope the strike is quick, because those posers look like they're about to behead it.
This is the first I heard of this one. I know some drones have been downed before though.
Big difference between a drone and a "spy plane".
They look like they're ready to behead the drone.
"Nyuk, nyuk nyuk..."
The laser guided missile trick is so cool.
What a bunch of Morons! They got enough weaponry to wipe out a small tank and they bagged a model plane!
Sheesh, that picture is embarassing...
1. Hopefully the photographer will soon end up as a blob on some street in Iraq after he reveals who the Islamokazis are behind their masks.
2. AP is incapable of doing any research. It is a Marine Drone instead of an Army Drone.
Maybe it already is serving as a Trojan...its amazing who small those transmitters are.
What is even more amazing is how proud these idiots are about downing an unmanned, unarmed, tiny spy plane...look at their weapons...look what it takes to bring down a spy plane...these guys are pathetic.
Wow. What men. What warriors. Shot down a model airplane. Wow.
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