Huge explosion hits front lines north of Kabul

The Associated Press ^ | 10/30/2001 5:20 am ET | The Associated Press

[mdittmar]

JABAL SARAJ, Afghanistan (AP) A huge explosion hit the Bagram front lines about 25 miles north of Kabul on Tuesday, sending up a mushroom cloud that billowed at least 1,000 feet into the air.

The origin of the explosion was not immediately clear, since there were no airplanes immediately overhead. However, U.S. planes had roared in the skies over the front lines north of the capital throughout the morning and early afternoon Tuesday.

It was also not clear what positions had been hit by the blast and how extensive the damage was.

[mdittmar]

sending up a mushroom cloud that billowed at least 1,000 feet into the air.

Any military guys know what would cause that??

[Gemflint]

Just caught that article myself - incredible!

Small tactical nuke?

[Movemout]

FAE (Fuel Air Explosion)-- when they detonated one of these as an experiment during the Gulf War, one of our allies wanted to know who set off a tactical nuke.

[SamAdams76]

Maybe fuel air explosion. I doubt a tactical nuke, a mushroom cloud from that would still be much higher than 1,000 feet.

[Inge_CAV]

Fuel-air device is what it sounds like.

BUMP!

[patriciaruth]

This qualifies as breaking news. A real comeback kid, you are.

[patriciaruth]

FAE? Oh, let me go get the FAE fan clud.

[mdittmar]

Is that a question or sarcasm??

[JustAmy]

Hate to sound stupid but what is a Fuel Air Explosion? Maybe I don't sound stupid, maybe I just am. ;^)

[laconic]

Could it have been a small nuke that the terrorists were storing on the ground for future use?

[JustAmy]

Hey .... looks like I'm not the only sleeping poster! ;-)

[lexington minuteman 1775]

bin ladins bean eating finally caught up with him perhaps?

[spunkets]

A fuel air explosion results when a dispersed mixture of fuel and dissolved, or finely dispered high explosive is detonated. It's a big blast. It's more economical than using all HE(high explosive).

[Nuke'm Glowing]

FAB. America's non-nuclear answer so the enviromentalist's won't protest about fallout. Devastating weapon and fun to watch if you're in the plane dropping it.

[Movemout]

Fuel-Air Explosives [FAE] disperse an aerosol cloud of fuel which is ignited by an embedded detonator to produce an explosion. The rapidly expanding wave front due to overpressure flattens all objects within close proximity of the epicenter of the aerosol fuel cloud, and produces debilitating damage well beyond the flattened area. The main destructive force of FAE is high overpressure, useful against soft targets such as minefields, armored vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, and bunkers.

[snippy_about_it]

Amy, see this thread about Fuel Air Bombs HERE

[CWOJackson]

Very large container of combustible liquid which opens at a pre-determined height above the target. The liquid is pretty much atomized into a combustible cloud that envelopes the target area then is ignited...very nasty, very devastating.

[leadpenny]

Maybe the "Davey Crockett" has been brought out of mothball.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

Fuel Air Explosion. Often called a "daisy cutter." Propane bomb. Devastating blast.

[mdittmar]

If that's what it is we need to drop leaflets before telling the toweliban troops we've put pigs blood in it.

No virgins for them,they are tainted.