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UK MADE MISSILES FOUND
SkyNews ^

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


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Russia; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: alharith; blackwatch; blackwatchregiment; illegalweapons; iraq; iraqifreedom; sanctions; scotland; un; wallopindustries
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To: All
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.
21 posted on 03/23/2003 2:42:19 PM PST by Kadric
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To: AdLines
The fact is: hey had them and were hiding them.

Where they came from means nothing.

22 posted on 03/23/2003 3:10:56 PM PST by battlegearboat
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To: AdLines
Were these allowed or banned weapons?

I'm very illiterate when it comes to weapon types and such.
23 posted on 03/23/2003 5:19:10 PM PST by sonsofliberty2000
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To: MadIvan
I agree.
24 posted on 03/23/2003 5:20:25 PM PST by TLBSHOW (The gift is to see the truth......)
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To: MadIvan
Next thing you know the democrats will be saying they
found Hawk missles that Reagan sold to Iran in there.
25 posted on 03/23/2003 5:24:17 PM PST by tet68 (Jeremiah 51:24 ..."..Before your eyes I will repay Babylon for all the wrong they have done in Zion")
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To: tet68; All
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.
26 posted on 03/23/2003 5:32:21 PM PST by wingster
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To: AdLines
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?
27 posted on 03/23/2003 5:43:27 PM PST by Illbay (Don't believe every tagline you read - including this one)
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To: skr
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.

28 posted on 03/23/2003 5:44:23 PM PST by Illbay (Don't believe every tagline you read - including this one)
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To: Illbay
Thanks. The newspeople referred to them as SCUDs at first. Guess they finally did their homework.
29 posted on 03/23/2003 7:08:55 PM PST by skr (The Butcher of Baghdad is a WMD)
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To: AdLines
Wallop Industries Limited, based in Middle Wallop in Hampshire.

Too funny!
30 posted on 03/23/2003 8:09:42 PM PST by ffusco ("Essiri sempri la santu fora la chiesa.")
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To: tet68
The Iraqi's took Hawks from Kuwait when they invaded.
31 posted on 03/24/2003 3:51:09 AM PST by Tommyjo
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To: jimtorr; AdLines
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.


32 posted on 03/24/2003 8:32:29 AM PST by archy (Keep in mind that the milk of human kindness comes from a beast that is both cannibal and a vampire.)
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