SOLDIERS CATCH SUSPECTED BOMB MAKER; 1500 ARTILLERY ROUNDS SEIZED

CENTCOM ^ | October 8, 2004

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

	NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

October 8, 2004
Release Number: 04-10-22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


SOLDIERS CATCH SUSPECTED BOMB MAKER; 1500 ARTILLERY ROUNDS SEIZED

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Working off a tip, Task Force Baghdad troops detained a truck carrying more than 1,500 155-millimeter artillery rounds Oct. 7. This seizure is one of the largest by the task force to date.

Ground forces were alerted to the suspected vehicle and converged on it and detained the driver and passenger. The munitions were found in the back of the truck during a search of the vehicle.

An explosive ordnance disposal team will destroy the seized munitions.

[Ol' Sox]

You can bet that the MSM would downplay 1000 chemical shells being a stockpile.

I dunno - by their own scale, a Ruger 10-22 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition is an arsenal.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Put panties on his head and make him bark like a dog until he fesses up!

That is cruel and unusual, constitution says we can't do that!

MSM reporting!!!!

[Bringbackthedraft]

It seems like too many rounds for a semi to lug. 2 rounds per case with packing (750 cases)? Trying to visualize it and can't.

[AdmSmith]

I guess that the figure 1,500 is wrong. If it was found in the back of the truck during a search of the vehicle, guess that is was under something else. Maybe 150 rounds? Initial reports...

[Tunehead54]

67.5 tons? That's a BIG truck! Still ... good news bump!

---

Any truckers know if a tractor trailer can handle a load like this? ;-)

[DonnerT]

I'm not a trucker but googled the 155mm, weight was 95 lbs. That would be over 142,000 lbs on a semi. Think that is about double usual load.

[whizzer]

Many lives saved here.

[brothers4thID]

I hope they are wearing protective chemical gear when they dispose of these munitions.

[No Longer Free State]

Exactly my first thought. They weigh about 98 lbs apiece. That makes a gross weight of about 150,000 lbs. I don't think so. I think someone misplaced a decimal.

Even then, 150 rounds off the street is great news, too.

[JackFromTexas]

I am Very interested in where these came from:
If they were stolen from a known dump, why did security fail? What is being done to correct it and stop further theft?
If they were from a hidden stash, what other stashes are there and what's in them????
Remember this from last spring:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4997808/

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 5:56 p.m. ET May 17, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A roadside bomb thought to contain deadly sarin nerve agent exploded near a U.S. military convoy, the U.S. military said Monday. It was believed to be the first confirmed discovery of any of the banned weapons that the United States cited in making its case for the Iraq war.

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Two members of a military bomb squad were treated for “minor exposure,” but no serious injuries were reported.

The chemicals were inside an artillery shell dating to the Saddam Hussein era that had been rigged as a bomb in Baghdad, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq.

Early indications suggest that two chemical components in the shell, which are designed to combine and create sarin during flight, did not mix properly or completely upon detonation, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Kimmitt, however, said a small amount of the nerve agent was released.

Field-test results could be in error
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the results were from a field test, which can be imperfect, and more analysis needed to be done. “We have to be careful,” he told an audience in Washington Monday afternoon.

Rumsfeld said it may take some time to determine precisely what the chemical was.

Two former weapons inspectors — Hans Blix and David Kay — said the shell was likely a stray weapon that had been scavenged by militants and did not signify that Iraq had large stockpiles of such weapons.

Kimmitt said he believed that insurgents who planted the explosive didn’t know it contained the nerve agent.

‘Very small dispersal’
He said the bomb exploded “a couple of days ago” in the Iraqi capital and resulted in “very small dispersal” of the nerve agent.

“The Iraqi Survey Group confirmed today that a 155-millimeter artillery round containing sarin nerve agent had been found,” said Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq. “The round had been rigged as an IED [improvised explosive device] which was discovered by a U.S. force convoy.


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• Expert talks about sarin's effect
May 17: MSNBC-TV’s Laurie Jennings interviews MSNBC analyst Dr. Sue Bailey about the effects of sarin.

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“A detonation occurred before the IED could be rendered inoperable,” he said.

U.S. soldiers who later transported the round did experience symptoms consistent with low-level nerve agent exposure, said a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity.

[wildbill]

Has anyone noticed we're hitting Zarkawi safehouses and ammo caches regularly. Now we get info on this truck movement.

It looks like we are getting a lot better intelligence from within the Iraqi population.

[bruin66]

I'd make him run around with one tied around his neck.

Don't forget the panties...

[surfatsixty]

F'in A, pal. Outstanding recommendation.

[blackie]

Rounding up bad guys ~ Bump!

[BushisTheMan]

Has anyone noticed we're hitting Zarkawi safehouses and ammo caches regularly. Now we get info on this truck movement. I looks like we are getting a lot better intelligence from within the Iraqi population.

Excellent comments and I agree with you.

However I am suspicious of timing of the large number of weddings being held in Iraq. /sarcasm

[11th_VA]

AWESOME - Can't wait to see this on the news tonight .. (Hey, I can dream right?)

[wildbill]

Curious about the weddings. One of the MSM had a feature the other day about how people weren't getting married because of the lack of security and therefore the flower vendors in Baghdad were going broke.

[solo gringo]

I hope they shot dead the terrorist i know they need their 72 virgins each.It is our forces to see to it their desires are taken care ASAP."not"

[Ginifer]

Thanks to all the soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan who are doing a GREAT job.