A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the S-25 rocket, the largest unguided air-to-surface unguided rocket used by the Syrian Air Force. Following that piece I was sent the remains of another munition, captioned "Missiles fired by Assad's airplanes on Ma'arat al-No'oman (Idleb Province)"
This time we have a type of air-to-surface missile known as a AS-14 (Kedge). What we can see in the above picture is the warhead section, that sits just before the guidance system, which can include a variety of laser based guidance systems. The warhead weighs 320kg, and is intended for large targets, such as large buildings and bridges. More images of the complete missile can be found here, with the final image of the set showing where the warhead is positioned.
Recently a number of videos have been posted online that seem to indicate that a new type of bomb is being used in Syria, likely an incendiary bomb of some type. For example, this video from the Aleppo region shows what appears to be the contents of one of these bombs
It's unclear what this substance is, but some people believe it's white phosphorous, but as yet there's been no evidence of how these bombs have been delivered.
The following video from the Aleppo region shows what I believe is the first evidence of incendiary cluster bombs being deployed in Syria
At first glance these may look like regular RBK cluster bombs, but this image from the video showing the bomb markings tell us exactly what the bomb is
The text reads RBK-250, the cluster canister type, and ZAB-2.5. ZAB stands for zazhigatelnaya aviatsionnaya bomba, meaning "incendiary aircraft bomb". At the end of the video we also see what appears to be the scorched remains of one of the bomblets. As yet it's unclear the exact type of incendiary substances used with the ZAB-2.5 bomblets, so I cannot confirm this is white phosphorus. This clearly indicates that there's at least one incendiary cluster bomb in this, picture, and three if the tail fins belong to RBK-250 ZAB-2.5 cluster bombs.
As with all cluster bombs we'll almost certainly see more evidence of cluster bomb canisters and unexploded bomblets, so expect more videos like this in the future. It's also interesting to note that this bomb appears shortly after the recent significant gains by the Syrian opposition across the country, much like cluster bombs began to appear after the Damascus-Idlib highway was captured near Maarrat al-Numan in Idlib.
Due to the large quantity of cluster bomb videos coming out of Syria at the moment it's not really reasonable to post endless videos of cluster bomb tail fins sticking out the ground, so I've selected some of the more interesting and unusual videos posted in the last week.
In this first video from Al Hivounah, Douma we see an excellent example of clearly marked cluster bomblets
This video from Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib shows the holes left by detonated cluster bomblets alongside bomblets that have become embedded in the ground after failing to detonate
Here we see the shrapnel left behind from exploded cluster bomblets in Kafr Tahari-m, Idlib
In this video from East Bweyda, Homs we see a cluster bomb canister's ejection rod causing difficulties for the people trying to remove it from the ground
In Alth, Idlib, this unusual video shows a cluster bomb canister tail lodged in the roof of a nearby building
The next two videos from East Bweyda, Homs, and Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib, claim to show civilians injured as result of cluster bomb attacks, but it's extremely difficult to verify the accuracy of the those claims
Human Rights Watch has put out a new report with more details of cluster bombs used in Syria in the two weeks since their last report. I've been providing them with videos of cluster bombs during that time, and I would like to thank all of you who sent me links to videos for your help with gathering all the videos of cluster bombs in Syria. I'm fairly confident the vast majority of videos (if not all) of cluster bombs in Syria were gathered together for this, along with many photographs. More videos, photos, and images can be found on the HRW site, as well as this video explaining the details of the report
To start with here's two pictures demonstrating extremely irresponsible behaviour with unexploded cluster bomblets, both showing AO1-Sch bomblets being held by children
On the opposite end of the UXO handling spectrum we have this video from al-Qusayr, Homs, showing PTAB 2.5m bomblets buried in the ground marked with circles of rocks as a warning to others, an effect unfortunately ruined by the handling of one of the bomblets at the end of the video
In Armanaz, Idlib, we have a series of videos, first two showing holes left by detonating bomblets, then one showing unexploded bomblets lodged in the ground, and finally one showing the tail end of a canister
In Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib, we have this photo of AO1-Sch bomblets, including the markings "55 107 77", which if I believe shows the factory it was manufactured in, the batch, and the year of manufacture, which is an interesting consideration when looking at these bomblets
Here's the latest videos of cluster bombs and bomblets from the last 24 hours in Syria, starting with two videos from Al-Bab, Aleppo, showing PTAB 2.5m bomblets, as well as the canister in the second video
This photograph was also taken in the same area [source]
And from Rankus, Damascus, we have this video showing multiple cluster bomb canisters and bomblets, as well as a gallery of photographs from the same area
In Talbiseh, Homs, we have this video showing a cluster bomb canister, and multiple bomblets
And in Dayr Ful, Homs, we have this video of a partial canister
From Duweir, Deir Ez Zor, a cluster bomb canister
And finally from Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib, this very interesting video that appears to show a cluster bomb that didn't deploy correctly and appears to have detonated with all the bomblets still inside, worth a look
Over the last few days there's been a marked increase in the number of cluster bomb remains being filmed in Syria, and until today most were filmed around Maarrat al-Numan, along the main highway that connects central Syria (Hama, Homs, then Damascus and Daraa) to northern Syria (Idlib, Aleppo), which has recently come under opposition control. The concentration of reports from that area suggested at first that the use of cluster bombs was related to attempts to regain an important supply route to Aleppo. The following video shows four examples of cluster bombs used in the area, some of which were covered in my earlier post on the topic
However, in the last 24 hours multiple videos have been posted online showing cluster bomb remains in locations across Syria. In all of the examples they appear to show RBK-250 cluster bombs with PTAB 2.5m bomblets with removed fuzes. These first two videos show bomb casing and cluster bomblets in Tell Rifaat, north of Aleppo
From the coastal region of Latakkia we have this video that shows a complete casing along with a number of unexploded bomblets
To the east of Damascus we have this remarkable collection of casing and bomblets from 5 separate cluster bombs from Deir Al-Assafeer, East Ghouta
These videos were posted online in the last 24 hours, and demonstrates that cluster bombs now appear to be used across Syria. In the last 4 days I've seen videos of between 17-20 separate cluster bombs, compared to 3 videos in the prior 18 months, clearly pointing to an escalation in their use. It should be noted that unlike normal bombs cluster bombs generally always leave behind bomb casings, as they open up to scatter bomblets rather than exploding.
Cluster bomblets leave a deadly legacy for decades after conflicts have ended, as well as being extremely dangerous to handle, something that unfortunately is happening in a great number of these videos. Earlier videos of cluster bombs dropped in Syria can be found here.
