UK MADE MISSILES FOUND

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UK MADE MISSILES FOUND

British troops securing the outskirts of Basra have discovered missiles and warheads hidden inside fortified bunkers, reports say.

Cases of rockets, giant anti-shipping mines and other ammunition were found in dozens of Iraqi bunkers near what is marked on maps as the Az Zubaya Heliport.

Some of the boxes are clearly marked with the names of British manufacturers, Gethin Chamberlain of The Scotsman filed in a pool report.

It was not clear when the missiles were made.

Skirmish

One pile of boxes in a store housing rocket propelled grenades bears the name of Wallop Industries Limited, based in Middle Wallop in Hampshire, Chamberlain said.

Two Russian-made Al-Harith anti-shipping Cruise missiles, each 20 feet long and three feet in diameter, and nine warheads, hidden in two enormous reinforced concrete bunkers, were also found.

Another missile, as yet unidentified, was found still crated up at the rear of one of the bunkers.

The discovery of the missiles came as British troops from the Black Watch Regiment fought to secure the area around Iraqi's second city, Basra, ahead of a push to capture the city.

Several units were involved in skirmishes with pockets of Iraqi troops and with civilians who have seized abandoned weaponry.

Reinforced bunkers

It was while trying to secure the area around the heliport that units from the Black Watch stumbled upon the missiles and other weapons

The vast complex, surrounded by chainlink fence and barbed wire, stands to the south west of the town, defended by a network of earth works and with tanks and other armoured vehicles dug in to the surrounding area.

But the defenders have fled after coming under attack from coalition forces.

Outside of the perimeter fence were approximately 40 bunkers packed with a mixture of RPGs and other ammunition. Inside, 22 larger fortified bunkers contain heavy weaponry including the Al-Harith missiles.

Also housed inside the reinforced bunkers were what appeared to be large anti-shipping mines and a host of other munitions.

On one box, written in English, were the words: "Contract AS Navy. 5/1980 Iran."

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-12274550,00.html

[Kadric]

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6178105%255E1702,00.html

The above link is for an other report. I believe that what we are seeing is an attempt to cover those countries that have violated the sanctions. Notice it says some boxes inside, not boxes of missiles or RPGs, could be a box of cleaning supplies. Also the missiles are in crates with Cyrillic writing dated 2002, this is not mentioned in the story that is linked on the first post. The one date meantioned is on a British box That was part of an Iranian contract, that date was 1980.

[battlegearboat]

The fact is: hey had them and were hiding them.

Where they came from means nothing.

[sonsofliberty2000]

Were these allowed or banned weapons?

I'm very illiterate when it comes to weapon types and such.

[TLBSHOW]

I agree.

[tet68]

Next thing you know the democrats will be saying they
found Hawk missles that Reagan sold to Iran in there.

[wingster]

The Brits get a pass anyway for helping us. I'm sure it was old munitions anyway. The U.S. sold Iraq stuff way back when too before we knew Saddam was a Daschhole!

It's one thing to sell them small combat arms, it's another to sell them stuff to make Chemical Weapons or other WMDs or to sell them nuclear technology and know-how such as France has.

[Illbay]

1. To whom were the weapons originally sold? (My Guess: Someone in NATO).

2. When do we get to kick the ***es of those NATO "allies" who then turned around and sold them to Iraq?

[Illbay]

I'm wondering why some of the officers are stating that no SCUD missiles have been found, when SCUDs have been reported as the missiles that were fired at Kuwait.

Because they weren't SCUDS, but al-Sahmoud II.

[skr]

Thanks. The newspeople referred to them as SCUDs at first. Guess they finally did their homework.

[ffusco]

Wallop Industries Limited, based in Middle Wallop in Hampshire.

Too funny!

[Tommyjo]

The Iraqi's took Hawks from Kuwait when they invaded.

[archy]

that units from the Black Watch

The Black Watch regiment was the first and now I think the last Scottish regiment left in the UK army. The other once proud regiments are now represented by mere companies and battalions.

Not quite. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards remain very much at full Regimental strength with four squadrons of Challenger II tanks, very much an important part of the British military establishment as Scotland's only cavalry regiment. Further details at the FReeppost Black Watch post *here*.

Now both units are serving with the British 7 th Armored Brigade, the legendary British Desert Rats whose insignia was the little red desert jebael mouse, and who, I expect, will long be telling the tale of the time they've spent in this war, fighting as they are alongside the U.S. four-star general serving as the commander of the U.S. Fifth Corps. It's hard to imagine that few Yanks seem to have yet made the connection.