Posted on 03/23/2003 1:24:57 PM PST by AdLines
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
Where they came from means nothing.
Because they weren't SCUDS, but al-Sahmoud II.
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.
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