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Acid truck bomb attack foiled in Iraq
Reuters ^ | April 17 2007

Posted on 04/16/2007 11:17:46 PM PDT by noname247

A truck laden with nitric acid and explosives overturned before the driver could attack a joint security station operated by U.S. and Iraqi troops north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The use of nitric acid in bomb attacks could mark another shift in tactics by insurgents, who in recent months have rigged nearly a dozen truck bombs with chlorine gas, mainly in western Anbar province.

In a statement, the U.S. military said a security patrol went to assist the driver of the truck after it overturned and found it loaded with eight containers of nitric acid and explosives.

It said the driver confessed he had been paid to attack the joint security station in Mushada, which also houses the town's police station, north of Baghdad.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: nitricacid

1 posted on 04/16/2007 11:17:49 PM PDT by noname247
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To: StarFan; Dutchy; alisasny; BobFromNJ; BUNNY2003; Cacique; Clemenza; Coleus; cyborg; DKNY; ...
ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

2 posted on 04/16/2007 11:19:03 PM PDT by nutmeg (The Democrats' "new direction" for Iraq: SURRENDER)
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To: Marine_Uncle; Allegra; Dog; Dog Gone; Steel Wolf; Coop; Cap Huff; zarf; SandRat; Chgogal; ...

ping


3 posted on 04/16/2007 11:19:26 PM PDT by noname247
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To: noname247

Concentrated Nitric acid is nasty stuff; but wouldn’t cause near as mmuch damage as schrapnel.


4 posted on 04/16/2007 11:26:38 PM PDT by Mikey_1962 (If you build it, they won't come...)
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To: Mikey_1962

I remember years ago in Chem class asking the teacher which was the most dangerous acid for people. He thought a few seconds and said, “Nitric”.

It’s probably not as bad as shrapnel but it has a terror all it’s own. And I wonder about breathing it in if you are nearby.


5 posted on 04/16/2007 11:32:41 PM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)
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To: Mikey_1962
Concentrated Nitric acid is nasty stuff; but wouldn’t cause near as mmuch damage as schrapnel.

Thank God they aren't using something really toxic...like CO2. </sarcasm>

6 posted on 04/16/2007 11:41:02 PM PDT by AndyTheBear (Disastrous social experimentation is the opiate of elitist snobs.)
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To: Mikey_1962
Concentrated Nitric acid is nasty stuff; but wouldn’t cause near as mmuch damage as schrapnel.

the problem is that nitric acid isn't terribly stable- the bomb would decompose the nitric acid into water, nitrogen dioxide, and dinitrogen tetroxide. nitrogen dioxide and dinitrogen tetroxide are both gases, are both extremely corrosive, are both very good oxidizers, and are both highly toxic by inhalation at lower concentrations than chlorine; they also both anesthetize the nose at sublethal conentrations and can inflict lethal damage hours before symptoms show up, rendering potential victims unaware of their presence until it's far too late. The nitric acid itself may not be worse than shrapnel, but it will decompose in an explosion into byproducts that rival and even exceed chlorine for value as chemical weapons.
7 posted on 04/17/2007 1:20:43 AM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad)
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To: noname247

There was something the other day about a bunch of nitric being found - drums of it if I remember correctly.

Nasty stuff, corrosive as heck, and tends to dissolve anything. It would be difficult to work on an injury soaked in something this corrosive, and would probably give anybody who saw the results nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Bastards.


8 posted on 04/17/2007 4:47:45 AM PDT by stuned_beeber (<---)
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To: Mikey_1962

Combine the two. I don’t want that happening to our guys. Either one.


9 posted on 04/17/2007 4:47:46 AM PDT by stuned_beeber (<---)
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To: I still care
He should have said 'Hydrofluoric', or some other florine based acid. True, nitric burns the fastest, and hurts the worst, but it does not seek out your bones and dissolve them slowly - a most horrific death.

Nitric acid, H2NO3 would (I believe) tend to amplify the explosive effects of the propellant, particularly if that propellant tended to expel unburned particles outwards through the acid. Nitric is a big time oxidizer, hurling explosives through it would be a 'bad thing'. (There are things that would make it worse.)

The resulting vapor cloud would be awful, burning mucous membranes, and dissolving lung tissue when inhaled. Eyes would be very hard hit, even from a distance.

Bottom line - this is a chemical weapon, designed for terror and to inflict casualties to large numbers of people. The people that thought this up are some of the most vile creatures on the planet and deserve everything they have coming.

May they all rot in hell.

10 posted on 04/17/2007 4:47:47 AM PDT by stuned_beeber (Quit...Give up...Go home...- Vote Democrat!)
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To: noname247

Welcome to FreeRepublic!


11 posted on 04/17/2007 4:50:20 AM PDT by airborne (Freedom is worth fighting for !! And I'm in a fighting mood !! HUNTER 2008 !)
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To: noname247

Does this qualify as chemical weapons?


12 posted on 04/17/2007 4:54:43 AM PDT by olderwiser
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To: stuned_beeber

“The people that thought this up are some of the most vile creatures on the planet and deserve everything they have coming.”

DITTOS!

WELCOME TO FR!


13 posted on 04/17/2007 5:09:58 AM PDT by wolfcreek (DON'T MESS WITH A NATION IN NEED OF MEDICATION !)
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To: stuned_beeber

Thanks.


14 posted on 04/17/2007 5:17:35 AM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)
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To: I still care

Love your Tag line! lol


15 posted on 04/17/2007 8:48:46 AM PDT by Danae (Anail nathrach, orth' bhais's bethad, do chel denmha)
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To: noname247

Sooner or later they will get hold of some really bad stuff. They would be using nukes now if they had them.


16 posted on 04/17/2007 8:50:29 AM PDT by RightWhale (3 May '07 3:14 PM)
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To: olderwiser

HELL YEA IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is a HIDEOUS WEAPON!


17 posted on 04/17/2007 8:50:45 AM PDT by Danae (Anail nathrach, orth' bhais's bethad, do chel denmha)
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To: wolfcreek

Thanks - I hope I get my training wheels off soon.


18 posted on 04/17/2007 12:21:50 PM PDT by stuned_beeber (Quit...Give up...Go home...- Vote Democrat!)
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To: noname247

Let us hope the more evil deeds these clowns faust on an already agitated populace the more pissed off the Iraqi will get, and shed their inhibitions, pointing out where these goons operate.


19 posted on 04/17/2007 4:29:22 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
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To: wolfcreek

I think its time that we celebrate our cultural diversity by going Commanche on their sorry terrorist asses.


20 posted on 04/17/2007 4:30:18 PM PDT by darth
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