A Syrian Smorgasbord Of IEDs And UXO

As I've frequently said in the past it's generally a very bad idea to pick up UXO (unexploded ordnance) unless you are trained to do so, but as anyone who follows Syria knows this is advice that's rarely followed.  This following video shows a collection of UXO, some of which has been converted into IEDs (improved explosive devices)

Colonel Abu Hasan of Sawt Al-Haq Battalion, Jund Allah Brigade provides us with a guided tour of the items on show

First we have an OFAB 100-120, which Colonel Hasan incorrectly describes as "a vacuum bomb that can destroy an area of 500 meters".  An OFAB 100-120 is a high explosive fragmentation bomb, and first appeared in Syria when jets first started bombing Aleppo in late July 2012.

Next what I believe is the front end of a parachute retarded bomb, which Colonel Hasan describes as a "guided rocket that is fired by a fighter plane".

Next we have a collection of unexploded PTAB 2.5m cluster bomb submunitions, correctly identified by Colonel Hasan.

Next Colonel Hasan shows us what he calls "katyusha rockets", which are in fact S-8KO rockets, normally launcher from aircraft.  You can see the designation written on the rocket in the above picture.

From left to right we have the tail of a 122mm rocket, an artillery round, the tip of an artillery or tank round, and a mortar tail fin.

Here we have what Colonel Hasan correctly identifies as 122mm Sakr cluster rockets, with a box full of submunitions to the right.  As he notes later in the video the colourful ribbons of the submunitions are very appealing to any child who might come across them.  It's also interesting to note other versions of these submunitions that have been seen in Syria so far have come with white ribbons.  The ribbons are attached to the arming pin, so pulling a ribbon can result in a live munition arming, and detonating.

Next we have some IEDs they've put together using UXO.

These cluster bomb submunitions have had an fuze added to them, turning them into pipebombs.

Here the OFAB 100-120 shown earlier has had it's fuze replaced with an electrical detonator, which allows them to set it off remotely.

These are 4 cluster bomb tails that have been filled with explosives and turned into IEDs.


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

First Images Of Grad Rockets Used By The Syrian Opposition

For a number of months there's been increasing evidence of the Syrian military using BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers in the conflict, including leaked videos showing launches, and unexploded rockets, as shown below

Recently images have been posted online showing the use of the 122mm rockets fired by the BM-21 Grad being used by groups belonging to the Syrian armed opposition, including this photograph from Jabhat al-Nusra

As you'll note, this is not the usual firing platform for a 122mm rocket, but a series of videos posted by the Syria Martyrs Brigade (Shuhada Souria) shows that this isn't the only example of a 122mm rocket being launched in less than ideal conditions

As Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch stated during the Libyan conflict "the Soviet-made Grad in particular is one of the world's most inaccurate rocket systems", and I'd imagine propping the rockets up against rocks and trees instead of using a BM-21 Grad to launch them does nothing to help their accuracy, and makes their usefulness rather questionable.

Update February 16th It now appears the opposition has dropped trees as their launching platform and have instead opted for a DIY launcher, which can be seen in the below video

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

The Consequences Of UXO Handling

As I've written about in the past videos showing the handling of UXO (unexploded ordnance) have been frequently uploaded to Youtube by activists in Syria, with great risk to everyone in the video.  For example, in this recent video from a village in the Hama region of Syria shows the cluster bomblets from an Egyptian Saqr 122mm rocket, launched from BM-21 Grads, being handled and shown to the camera

On the same channel we have a video of a man who tried to pull one of the Saqr bomblets out of the ground by pulling at the ribbon attached to the bomblet, which caused it to explode, destroying both his hands and killing him

Cluster bomblets used in the Saqr rockets have a very different arming mechanism from the bomblets used in the RBK cluster bombs dropped by aircraft in Syria.  The ribbon each one is attached to is connected to the arming pin, and when the bomblet is dispersed the ribbon stabilises the bomblet and arms the bomblet as it falls through the air by pulling the pin into the armed position.  The problem is, if the bomblet doesn't disperse correctly and the ribbon doesn't have chance to pull the pin, the bomblet is not activated, but still very likely to go off if the ribbon is pulled.  Think of it as a hand grenade pin, as soon as it's remove the munition is going to go off, and this is likely what cost the man in the above video his life.  It's very unlikely the people handling these unexploded munitions know how the arming mechanism relates to the ribbon, so they are taking huge risks handling these submunitions, as the above video clearly demonstrates.

The RRMA (Responsible Reseachers for Arms and Munitions) has put together a number of safety posters in English and Arabic with details of some of the cluster submunitions commonly sighted in Syria,  and videos of other examples of Saqr rockets seen in Syria can be found here.

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

Evidence Of New Grad Launched Cluster Munitions Used In Syria

Earlier this week I wrote about the recent use of BM-21 Grad rocket launchers in Syria, and today I've been provided a video by Yalla Souriya showing another unexploded rocket from these launchers, with some very interesting items at the end of the video

The rocket pictured is produced by the Egpytian Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) owned Sakr Factory for Development Industries, which produces a variety of weapons, including the Sakr series of 122mm rockets used by BM-21 Grad rocket launchers, the Sakr-18, Sakr-36, and Sakr-45, the number being the range of the rocket.  What's very interesting about these particular rocket is rather than being the usual high explosive fragmentation round they instead carry M42D dual purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions, a type of cluster submunition.  As per the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor

The SAKR Factory for Developed Industries produces two types of 122mm surface-to-surface rockets: the SAKR-18 and SAKR-36, containing 72 and 98 M42D submunitions, respectively.

So this brings us to the items shown later on in the video

 

 

The image quality isn't great, but you get a sense of what they look they, a small munition with what's known as a "drag ribbon" attached, which unfurls when the bomblet is deployed and acts to stablise and arm the bomblet.  One problem with this is it also results in the bomblet getting caught up in trees and bushes, presenting an UXO hazard.  Unfortunately I've been unable to find a reference image for a M42D bomblet, but here's a couple of example of other very similar bomblets via the Cluster Munition Coalition

You'll note the US made M42 submunition looks very similar, which, based off the designation, makes me wonder if the M42D is a copy of that munition.

In lieu of a reference image for the M42D I cannot say for certain that the submunitions in the video are M42Ds, but based off the type of rocket pictured in the video it seems highly likely we have the first evidence pointing towards a new type of cluster munition being used in Syria by the Syrian army.


Update December 16th Thanks to Mark Hiznay for pointing me to this reference image of a M42D cluster bomblet, which appears to match the submunition shown in the video

Update January 3rd 2013 This new video has been posted showing a much clearer shot of the submunitions, which appears to match with the above pictured M42D

Update January 7th Thanks to Nic Jenzen-Jones of the Rogue Adventurer blog for providing me with this video of a sales video for these rockets, with good cutaway models showing how the bomblets are held inside the rocket

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