Launchers For Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack Filmed At Mezzeh Airbase

Since publishing my last post, Evidence Of The Syrian Army Using Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack, which examined evidence of the high explosive variant of the munition linked to the August 21st Sarin attack (which I've dubbed UMLACAs) being fired from Mezzeh Airbase in Damascus, I've being searching through videos from the surrounding area, searching for more examples of the rockets being fired from the airbase.  What I've found are six videos from December 2012 and January 2013 showing the launchers for the UMLACAs in operation inside Mezzeh Airbase, clear evidence that the Syrian military had the equipment required to launch the munitions linked to the August 21st Sarin attack.

The following video, posted on December 23rd 2012, shows the clearest view of the munition being launched

The below image shows the clearest view of the munition, and I've adjusted the levels on the image to make the shape as clear as possible.

As you can see this matches the unusual shape of the UMLACA.  Below we see the launcher

This twin barreled launcher appears to be of the same type photographed in Aleppo in November 2012, shown below, with the second picture showing it apparently loaded with an UMLACA

We get a much clearer view of the launcher in the next two videos from Mezzeh airbase

Another two videos show what appears to be the same vehicle launching rockets from Mezzeh Airbase

With a sixth video showing a launcher with the same launch profile seen in the above videos

It seems there's an ever increasing body of evidence confirming the Syrian government are capable of launching the rockets used in the August 21st attack, and that they've been using those launchers since at least November 2012.  These videos are from one location in Damascus, but we know there's at least one video showing an UMLACA launch from Qadam railway station in Damascus, so it might be time to revisit some old videos showing rocket launches, and giving them an extra close look.

More posted on the subject of the August 21st attacks can be found here, and other posts on chemical weapons and Syria, including extremely informative interviews with chemical weapon specialists, can be found here.

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

Evidence Of The Syrian Army Using Munitions Linked To The August 21st Sarin Attack

Since the UN report into the August 21st sarin attack confirmed the use of a previously unknown munition in the attack, which I had previously named the UMLACA (more details here), there's been a lot of debate about whether or not the Syrian army has such a munition.  There's been multiple videos of the munitions posted online by the Syrian opposition, and they've been consistently described as being fired by Syrian government forces.  From those videos, I've been able to identify at least two types of these munitions, one type linked to the August 21st sarin attack and past alleged chemical attacks, and a second, high explosive, type.

The following video from Daraya, Damascus, published on Decemeber 29th 2012, was highlighted by @hesbol on a blog post attempting to discern the range of the UMLACA.  It shows what seems to be a high explosive version of the UMLACA being launched and detonating

As the camera tracks the flight of the UMLACA it's very distinct outline can be clearly seen

In the video it's claimed that the munitions are fired from Mezzeh airbase, and it's actually possible to confirm they are coming from the direction of Mezzeh airbase.  At the start of the video we see the launch, and the outline of the hills behind it.

Using Google Earth we can position the virtual camera facing north from Daraya, looking towards Mezzeh airbase, and it's clear the topography matches what we see in the video

The structure at the top of the hill is the HQ of Maher al-Assad's 4th division, which can be seen here on Wikimapia.  A report from the Institute for the Study of War examining the situation in Damascus in December 2012, shows that the area north of Daraya, including Mezzeh airbase, and the 4th division terrain to the north, were under the control of the Syrian army, and it seems, from what we can see in the above video, that the UMLACA was fired by Syrian government forces.  This not only shows the Syrian army have been using the munitions, but they've been using them since December 2012.

More posted on the subject of the August 21st attacks can be found here, and other posts on chemical weapons and Syria, including extremely informative interviews with chemical weapon specialists, can be found here.

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

Video Shows Assad's Forces Loading, Firing, Munition Linked To Chemical Attacks

The following video was just sent to me by @Paradoxy13, showing the type of munition linked to alleged chemical attacks being loaded and fired by what appears to be Assad's forces

First we see the munition arriving by truck

Here we see it loaded on the launcher, a tube launcher as predicted, on the back of a truck

The munition is then raised into firing position

And launched

Also note among the group men in red berets

Red berets are worn by members of the Syrian Republican Guard, also known as the Presidential Guard, as well as the military police.

Just to clarify, as it's confused some people, the August 21st CW attack was at night, but this video shows the munition being used by the government forces, something it has used several times before (see here), so while it might not be the CW attack, it shows the government using them.  I also believe there's a high explosive version of this munition as well, as seen in Homs.

Nic Jenzen-Jones has more information on this munition on his blog.

Update I've just been contacted by the activists who filmed this, who said "This is fired from the areas to the east and north east of Al-Mezzeh Airport around Daraya."

Update Nic Jenzen-Jones highlights on his excellent blog post on these munitions a photograph from November showing a launcher he identifies as an Iranian Falaq-2 loaded with what could be the same munition.  The earliest video of this type of munition is from January 2013.

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More Videos Emerge Of Chemical Attack Linked Mystery Munitions

Yesterday, I wrote about a munition which local activist groups in Damascus claimed was linked with the alleged chemical attack that took place in Adra.

As I mentioned in the article, a number of these have been recorded before in the conflict, two of which were linked with alleged chemical attacks, and now footage has been posted online, filmed in Adra, that shows the same munitions again

What's interesting about these is the description in the video claims they aren't linked with the latest attack in Adra, but an earlier alleged chemical attack on August 5th, where another one of these munitions was filmed (warning, graphic images)

None of the remains of these munitions featured in the above three videos match each other, nor do they match the remains of munitions in other videos and photographs.  It's also interesting to note that one of the video shows a unidentified black substances splattered on the munition, which was seen in photographs and videos of other examples of these munitions.

The question still remains of what these could be?  In all cases these are munitions that the opposition has claimed the government has used, even before they were linked to chemical attacks, and they don't match any known munition used elsewhere in the world.  What their payload is, and how they are launched remains a mystery, but there's more and more images of these in relation to chemical attacks, and it seems they might be key to understanding some of the alleged chemical attacks in Syria.

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

Are These The Munitions Used In Today's Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack?

Today, there have been a large number of reports of a chemical weapon attack in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, with dozens of videos of the victims posted online (here).  Large numbers of victims have been reported, and the following pictures have been posted online claiming to show two of the munitions used in the attack

[Source]

Update August 22nd Videos have now been posted on YouTube showing the same type of munition, as well as an additional munition, plus one linked to the attack, as well as a third munition linked to the attack, and  a gallery of photos showing one of the above munitions

What's extremely interesting about these devices is they match with devices previously recorded in the conflict, reportedly launched by government forces, with it's first appearance in Daraya, south-west Damascus on January 4th

With photographs of the munition taken elsewhere in Daraya on the same day

Adra, northeast of Damascus, on June 11th, described as a "chemical missile"

Adra, on August 5th, linked to an alleged chemical attack on the same day

Khalidiya, Homs on August 2nd.  This video gives us a sense of the size of one of these munitions, early in the video it's lined up against a car, and would be around 3-3.5 meters along, with the payload being around 1-1.5 meters long

It's interesting to note that the example from Homs appears to have an explosive fill, that would have likely destroyed much of the munition if it had detonated, while the other examples appear to have used up their payload without any damage to the munition, perhaps implying there's multiple payloads.

The obvious question are what are these munitions? There's clear evidence that these have been linked to previous chemical attacks in Syria, but also that there are explosive versions of these munitions being used in the Syrian conflict. The question is what other open source information can lead us to discover the true identity of these munitions.

Update August 22nd More information on these munitions can be found here.

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DIY Weapon Linked To Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack in Adra, Damascus

Yesterday there were more reports of alleged chemical weapon use in Adra, Damascus, scene of several previously reportedly alleged chemical weapon attacks.  A number of videos were posted online, including this video showing a number of dead animals, and the remains of a device alleged to be linked to the alleged chemical weapon attack

Regular readers of the blog might recognise this device as resembling an unidentified rocket/missile I've written about recently, reportedly used by government forces in Daraya, Damascus in January, and in Adra, Damascus in June.  Since I made that post I've been sent two photographs of another example that was used in Daraya on the same day as January video

In addition to these images from Damascus we also have this video posted a few days ago from Khalidiya, Homs

It's worth noting that none of the previous videos or photographs have been associated with chemical attacks, so the questions remains, what are these?

In the video from Homs, Khalidiya, it appears there's a clear shot of the unexploded payload

This tightly packed yellow substance is very reminiscent of the explosive fill of high explosive bombs, such as the OFAB 250-275 (seen here), and if the entire front end of that weapon is filled with that sort of high explosive it would be a devastating weapon.  If this was propelled by a rocket it would be very much like an IRAM (Improvised Rocket Assisted Munition/Mortar) that has been previously used in the conflict on several occasions.  The problem is, the other videos and photographs would seem to point away from the payload being a large amount of high explosive.  It seems very likely an explosion of that size would totally destroy the front end of the munition, and almost certainly badly damage the rest of the munition, yet it's clear that in some of the images the front end seems relatively undamaged for what should be a massive explosion.

That made me think, are we perhaps looking at more than one kind of payload?  Looking at the two photographs taken in Daraya in January it appears a near by wall has been splattered by a dark liquid

There's also traces of a dark liquid on the munition used in Adra in June, on the section where the payload would be contained.

In the most recent attack the tube of metal where the payload would have been looks black and shiny, possibly covered in a black liquid, although it's difficult to be sure

It's also interesting that the metal plate shown above appears to have what might be two holes possibly used for filling the warhead, and this appears to be present in all the examples where that part of the munition is visible.

However, without further information it seems to be difficult to ascertain the payload used.  Judging by the number of images being produced of these munitions in recent weeks it does seem to indicate they are being used on a more regular basis, and they also appear to be a rare example of a DIY weapon used by government forces.

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

A Mystery Munition - Syrian Army DIY Rockets?

Occasionally I've come across items that appears to be some sort of unexploded ordnance (UXO) that I've been unable to identify at the time.  Sometimes it's because they are damaged beyond recognition, or they are badly filmed, or they are just weird.  In the weird category was this video from Daraya, south-west Damascus, filmed on January 4th 2013

It shows what is supposedly some type of rocket or missile embedded in the ground, supposedly fired by Syrian government forces.  What's odd is it doesn't appear to match any design of rocket or missile I could find, and seemed as if it could be a DIY weapon.  It certainly didn't match any of the DIY rockets I'd seen used by the opposition, and I even suspected it could have been some random piece of junk.

Six months later and we now have this video from Adra, north-east of Damascus, of what's claimed to be a "chemical" missile

This appears to be the same design as the missile in the January video, and I'll just explain how I came to that conclusion.  It's really all about the tail fin, shown below

January Video

June Video

The one thing that stands out is the tail ring is missing a section in the June video, but I suspect this might be due to damage.  You'll note the tail fins are welded to the body of the rocket/missile in the same way, and have been cut in an usually right-angled fashion.  In the below picture I've taken the tail fin from each video and lined them up against each other, to check the proportion of the tail fin to the tail ring

It should be noted the below half is angled towards the camera, so while it looks like it's slightly longer you'll note the base of the tail fin is the same distance apart.  I've marked the below version of the picture to make it clearer

So it appears they share identical dimensions.  This isn't the only similarity, the rocket motor also appears to be identical in both videos

January video

June video

You'll also note in the above pictures that in the position of the bolt or screw between the tail fins in the January video there's a hole in the June video, possibly that once held the same sort of bolt or screw.

So it seems clear these are the same design, but the questions remains what exactly they are?  It doesn't appear to match any design of rocket or missile I can find, which would imply it's possibly a DIY rocket, or something locally produced that hasn't been seen before.  I'd even consider it's the same rocket in both video they've filmed twice after doing some additional damage, but so far it remains a mystery munition.

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New Images Show Naval Mines Dropped On Dry Land In Syria

Some rather unusual videos and images of a newly recorded weapon reportedly dropped from a helicopter in Daraya have emerged today

I believe what we are seeing here is a naval mine, and it seems to have certain similarities with the SADAF-02 mine, a damage example of which is pictured here

However currently I don't have a solid 100% match in mind, so any suggestions are welcome.

The question is why are the Syrian air force now dropping naval mines on dry ground?  Having used ADIEDs are they now looking for more ways to deliver more explosives with their multi-purpose Hip helicopters?

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