Free Republic

Britain's defence ministry have acknowledged using controversial thermobaric missiles in Syria that rights groups have described as "indiscriminate". Royal Air Force drones used the weapons, often called "vacuum" bombs because they suck oxygen into the powerful blast, against targets in Syria in January and February of this year, an FOI request sent by Drone Wars UK, a campaign group, has revealed. The missiles work by sucking in oxygen from the environment to create a high-temperature explosion with an extremely powerful blast radius. Unlike conventional explosives that cause injuries through shrapnel, the blast effect of thermobaric weapons causes internal organ damage...