Disposing Of Unexploded Cluster Bomblets, Jabhat al-Nusra Style

Over the past 6 months vast numbers of cluster bombs have been dropped by the Syrian Air Force across Syria, leaving a massive long term UXO hazard for the citizens of Syria whoever the victor in the conflict may be.  This presents tremendous problems for civilians caught up in these attacks, and as this following video shows attempts to dispose of them leaves something to be desired

Enter Jabhat al-Nusra, who in a recent massive bombing campaign in Palmyra, 120km east of Homs used a variety of UXO in the construction of their bombs, including at least 30 unexploded PTAB 2.5m cluster bomblets, shown below

Jabhat al-Nusra claim in their statement to have used multiple vehicles loaded with around 3 tonnes of explosives each, much of which appears to be unexploded ordnance.  This is not the first time they've done this, with a previous truck bomb using at least 2 unexploded FAB 500 M62 high explosive bombs, but this is the first time I'm aware of cluster bomblets being used as part of a VBIED.

As a slight aside, in this picture we see a bomb I've as yet been unable to identify

At the back of the picture appears to be a bomb I've recently come across in this video, but as yet I've been unable to identify it

This was filmed near Meng Air Base in the Aleppo region, a few hundred kilometers away from the Jabhat al-Nusra attack, so it's highly unlikely it's the same piece of UXO, so if anyone has a clue what this could be please let me know.

Warning and information posters in Arabic and English for the types of unexploded cluster bombs found in Syria can be found on the website of the RRMA (Responsible Researchers of Munitions and Arms) here.


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Cluster Bomb Usage Rises Significantly Across Syria
Collected ODAB Thermobaric Bomb Evidence
A Beginner's Guide To Identifying UXO In Syria
The Mystery Of The Syrian Barrel Bombs
New Bomb Identified In Syria
The Weapons Of The Syrian Air Force 

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com