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| Iraq |
| Why steal a dump truck? |
| 2006-04-01 |
| "... an Iraqi Army patrol stopped an anti-Iraqi forces attempt to steal a dump truck south of Baqubah ..." "Four insurgents were killed, one wounded and eight detained." "After the firefight, the units inspected a white sedan the anti-Iraqi forces were using in their escape attempt. It was found to have a mortar tube with base plate, some mortar rounds and a sniper rifle with ammunition." Assigning 13 (or more) men to the task of stealing a dumptruck indicates they seriously wanted it for something. Is it possible they wanted the dump truck to use as a mobile mortar position? It would potentially diminish the effectiveness of counter-battery response, which has been limiting them to only a couple of quick shots before they had to scoot. Would the propellant gasses cause problems in the confined space of a dump truck bed? |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #5 It's a breeching device. Ten tons of stone moving at 40 MPH can clear quite a path. No explosives required. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2006-04-01 22:27 |
| #4 A dump truck would probably be heavy enough to penetrate some of the barriers at FOB's or Green Zone hotels. |
| Posted by: Spomong Glusing5144 2006-04-01 21:43 |
| #3 Baqubah is where we have a FOB (forward operating base) and is adjacent to Iran. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-04-01 17:44 |
| #2 Anonymoose is right, I think. If they welded heavy steel plate over the top of a dump truck, the blast from a bomb inside would be mostly in the horizontal plane, and extremely destructive. Sort of an IRA cream can bomb on a huge scale. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2006-04-01 16:23 |
| #1 Trying to make another mega-bomb, huh? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-04-01 15:58 |