I don't know what they used to fire the missile at us, but it def. wasn't one of these. I just want you to see what one of these 240mm missiles looks like. Big enough for ya? IT WAS A HUUUUGE ONE! And we know EXACTLY what it sounds like just before it impacts its target.
BAGHDAD - A fatal attack launched two days ago against the sprawling headquarters base of the American military in Iraq was carried out with a 240 mm rocket — a type of weapon provided to Shiite extremists by Iran, a U.S. general said Thursday.
But such an attack with a sophisticated weapon against a nearly impregnable compound — far less vulnerable than the Green Zone in the heart of the capital — sends a strong message to the Americans that nowhere in Iraq are they safe, even in the nerve center of the U.S. mission.
It represents a major confrontation between the U.S. and armed Shiite groups the Americans insist are supported by Iran.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said the rocket was launched from a populated area in the Rasheed district of west Baghdad, which he said was infiltrated by the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Bergner said Shiite groups "have received" such weapons "from Iranian sources in the past" and "used them against coalition forces." A 240 mm rocket was fired against a U.S. base south of the capital in mid-August.
"The Iranian... rocket is the only 240-milimeter rocket found or fired in Iraq to date, and Jaish al-Mahdi is the only group known to fire that rocket," Bergner said, referring to the Mahdi Army by its Arabic name.
Camp Victory, a huge area located near Baghdad International Airport, has occasionally come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties and with such sophisticated weapons are rare.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the congressional testimony of the top U.S. officials in Iraq accusing Iran of interfering in its war-torn neighbor.
In an interview on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker raised allegations of Iranian meddling solely because of the political debate within the United States over the war in Iraq.
"Iran has no need to interfere in Iraq. The Iraqi government and nation are close friends of Iran," he said.
Bergner insisted the U.S. was certain that such rockets were of Iranian origin based on their color and markings on fragments. He said Shiite extremist leaders under U.S. detention had acknowledged that Iranian Quds Force operatives were providing 240 mm rockets to Shiite militias.
Last month, al-Sadr announced a freeze of operations by the Mahdi Army to give time to reorganize the force.
"There are indications that some of his followers are fulfilling that pledge of honor," Bergner said. "We have seen other indications of others who are not fulfilling the commitment he made. We know there are some that are not operating within the bounds of his guidance."
Bergner said the victims of Tuesday's rocket attack were a mix of American military personnel, other coalition troops and civilian contractors. The fatality was a civilian contractor from a third country, meaning neither American nor Iraqi, he said.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military said a joint three-day operation between Iraqi troops and U.S. Special Forces netted 80 prisoners and killed three suspects in the Hamrin Ridge and Diyala River Valley areas of eastern Iraq.
Among those captured were four suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terror cell leaders, the military said in a statement.
The U.S. said Iraqi troops also seized 40 AK-47 assault rifles and machine gun ammunition. More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers took part in the operation, it said.
Meanwhile, violence continued in Baghdad, with Iraqi police saying six people were killed and 18 wounded when a bomb hidden under a parked car exploded in Sadr City. The bomb was apparently aimed at an American convoy, but missed its target — killing all civilians and setting shops in the area on fire, police said.
In eastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and injured two others, police also said.
And near Samarra, 60 miles north of the Iraqi capital, authorities said about 60 gunmen attacked a police station and ignited clashes with residents and police — leaving four assailants dead and two policemen wounded.
The attacks came despite the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Thursday for Iraq's Sunni Muslims, and Friday for the country's majority Shiites. Tradition requires faithful to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during the monthlong observance.
The U.S. military issued a statement Thursday saying it had begun releasing between 50 and 80 Iraqi prisoners a day as a gesture during Ramadan.
More about the rocket attack that we witnessed here Sept 11.:
Bergner: Rocket associated with Iran
Posted: Thursday September 13,2007 - 02:57:27 am
By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer
By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD - A fatal attack launched two days ago against the sprawling headquarters base of the American military in Iraq was carried out with a 240 mm rocket — a type of weapon provided to Shiite extremists by Iran, a U.S. general said Thursday.
One person was killed and 11 were wounded during the "indirect fire" attack Tuesday against Camp Victory, which includes the headquarters of Multinational Forces-Iraq.
The attack was overshadowed by congressional appearances by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Washington.
But such an attack with a sophisticated weapon against a nearly impregnable compound — far less vulnerable than the Green Zone in the heart of the capital — sends a strong message to the Americans that nowhere in Iraq are they safe, even in the nerve center of the U.S. mission.
It represents a major confrontation between the U.S. and armed Shiite groups the Americans insist are supported by Iran.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said the rocket was launched from a populated area in the Rasheed district of west Baghdad, which he said was infiltrated by the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Bergner said Shiite groups "have received" such weapons "from Iranian sources in the past" and "used them against coalition forces." A 240 mm rocket was fired against a U.S. base south of the capital in mid-August.
"The Iranian... rocket is the only 240-milimeter rocket found or fired in Iraq to date, and Jaish al-Mahdi is the only group known to fire that rocket," Bergner said, referring to the Mahdi Army by its Arabic name.
Camp Victory, a huge area located near Baghdad International Airport, has occasionally come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties and with such sophisticated weapons are rare.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the congressional testimony of the top U.S. officials in Iraq accusing Iran of interfering in its war-torn neighbor.
In an interview on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker raised allegations of Iranian meddling solely because of the political debate within the United States over the war in Iraq.
"Iran has no need to interfere in Iraq. The Iraqi government and nation are close friends of Iran," he said.
Bergner insisted the U.S. was certain that such rockets were of Iranian origin based on their color and markings on fragments. He said Shiite extremist leaders under U.S. detention had acknowledged that Iranian Quds Force operatives were providing 240 mm rockets to Shiite militias.
Last month, al-Sadr announced a freeze of operations by the Mahdi Army to give time to reorganize the force.
"There are indications that some of his followers are fulfilling that pledge of honor," Bergner said. "We have seen other indications of others who are not fulfilling the commitment he made. We know there are some that are not operating within the bounds of his guidance."
Bergner said the victims of Tuesday's rocket attack were a mix of American military personnel, other coalition troops and civilian contractors. The fatality was a civilian contractor from a third country, meaning neither American nor Iraqi, he said.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military said a joint three-day operation between Iraqi troops and U.S. Special Forces netted 80 prisoners and killed three suspects in the Hamrin Ridge and Diyala River Valley areas of eastern Iraq.
Among those captured were four suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terror cell leaders, the military said in a statement.
The U.S. said Iraqi troops also seized 40 AK-47 assault rifles and machine gun ammunition. More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers took part in the operation, it said.
Meanwhile, violence continued in Baghdad, with Iraqi police saying six people were killed and 18 wounded when a bomb hidden under a parked car exploded in Sadr City. The bomb was apparently aimed at an American convoy, but missed its target — killing all civilians and setting shops in the area on fire, police said.
In eastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and injured two others, police also said.
And near Samarra, 60 miles north of the Iraqi capital, authorities said about 60 gunmen attacked a police station and ignited clashes with residents and police — leaving four assailants dead and two policemen wounded.
The attacks came despite the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Thursday for Iraq's Sunni Muslims, and Friday for the country's majority Shiites. Tradition requires faithful to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during the monthlong observance.
The U.S. military issued a statement Thursday saying it had begun releasing between 50 and 80 Iraqi prisoners a day as a gesture during Ramadan.
Maybe JAM used this guy to launch their rocket at us. He is the RGC-80 GM Cannon with a single 240 mm cannon
4 Comments:
I popped over from Cajun Tyger's blog. Just wanted to say thank you for your service and for the reporting you do. Please keep us back here in the US informed on the real situation on the ground.
Hi Debbie! Thanks for checking out our blogs! We really appreiciate it. We'll do what we can to report the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. :) Pop back in again soon!!!
Hi I was just browsing and thought I would correct one small detail of your post. I was one of the EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) specialist that investigated the post blast on this attack. The general may have stated that this was an Iranian rocket, however we never determined that since a key piece of information was missing. There were Iranian munitions in Iraq but this rocket was more likely a Chinese 240 mm rocket that is a bit smaller then the one identified in the link. I have included a link to show what one would look like it is a 107mm But the only difference is the size they are virtually the same rocket. The rockets in the thumbnail at the top is the one on display since I couldn't find a accurate picture of the 240mm in question. Thanks for your post. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lDZaD6dEUuY/TCx0D6W72aI/AAAAAAAAASE/SqX3i1LwEgY/s1600/818509514_059a81ff06_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://thearkenstone.blogspot.com/&usg=__M1Xbr5uB7_DLnVcNLEsoBfQdItE=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=215&hl=en&start=111&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=lDJgepOxjQfr_M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3D240mm%2Brocket%26start%3D100%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1
Awesome! Thank you for your comment/correction. More importantly, thank you for your service. Stay safe.
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