The Iraq thread 4

[quicksand 0]

Link To Video

I think this surpasses by far the time they used monkeys to fire RPGs from donkey pulled carts or when they infiltrated the US base in Mosul.The video that shows the Biritish aicraft being shot down,shows an insurgent in a desert area using a remote control device to fire a missle at the aicraft.

If it's veritable I don't even want to imagine on what the insurgents are holding back and preparing for.

[kerosene 0]

I couldnt get a decent picture on that video clip, but if its what I saw on the news, its a video of a missile being fired, then footage of the wreckage, they didnt film the hit at all?

That's the main thing that makes it questionable, whether or not that footage is actually them shooting the plane down.

Its still being mentioned that they may have been SAS, they were pretty far out from the british area anyway.

[Jezz 0]

the missile system doesnt appear to be AA more like a diy artillery rocket, if it was that it hit it then it was a lucky hit, but even thats doubtful as you dont see the strike.

[Balschoiw 0]

The thing that indicates that it has been grounded with some kind of missile is, that it seems to have exploded inair as the plane parts are scattered over a huge area.

Hercules planes are not known for exploding much inair, so my bet is on a projectile of whatever kind.

[Jezz 0]

yeah the wreckage at the end did look like a large blast in the air most likely the fuel detonating in the wings, from a missile strike or some sort of massive failure which is unlikly with c130s impressive reliabilty record but still possible

[billybob2002 0]

the missile system doesnt appear to be AA more like a diy artillery rocket, if it was that it hit it then it was a lucky hit, but even thats doubtful as you dont see the strike.

It looked like two projectiles were fired in which one went high and the other one low. I will wait for the official cause. Anyway, I thought insurgents like to film what they are trying to hit (i.e. the SA-7 vid)

[billybob2002 0]

How low can you go...

http://www.smh.com.au/news....ck=true

Quote[/b] ]

Handicapped boy who was made into a bomb

By Paul McGeough, Chief Herald Correspondent, in Baghdad

February 2, 2005

Amar Ahmed Mohammed was 19 years old. But the fact that he had the mind of a four-year-old did not stop the insurgency's hard men as they strapped explosives to his chest and guided him to a voting centre in suburban Al-Askan.

Before dawn yesterday in Baghdad, his parents strapped his broken remains to the roof of a taxi to lead a sorrowful procession to the holy city of Najaf. There, they gave him a ceremonial wash and shrouded him in white cotton before burying him in the shadow of the shrine of Imam Ali, the sainted founder of their Shiite creed.

Unlike the hundreds of others in the region who knowingly volunteered for an explosive death, Amar died because he did not know. He had Down syndrome.

On most days, Amar would slip out of his parents' house and wander the streets of the Al-Askan neighbourhood until dusk when, usually, a friend or neighbour would bring him home. On Sunday, when his parents, Ahmed, 42, and Fatima, 40, went to vote with their two daughters, they left him at home as usual.

Al-Askan is a dangerous and mixed area. When the Herald attempted to visit it yesterday the police allowed us to advance only a few blocks into the area before ordering us out - the immediate area of Amar's home was the centre of a running gunfight between Shiites of the Al-Bahadel tribe and Sunnis of the Al-Ghedi.

One of Amar's cousins, a 29-year-old teacher who asked not to be named, claimed the insurgents must have kidnapped him. "He was like a baby," he said. "He had nothing to do with the resistance and there was nothing in the house for him to make a bomb. He was Shiite - why bomb his own people?

"He was mindless, but he was mostly happy, laughing and playing with the children in the street. Now, his father is inconsolable; his mother cries all the time."

After voting at 7.30am, Amar's parents joined the extended family for a celebration that became a lunch of chicken and rice, soup and orange juice at the home of one of his relatives.

The sound of the blast interrupted the party. But it was assumed to be a mortar shell, Amar's cousin said, a follow-up to a mortar barrage across the city in the first hours of voting. "Everyone was very happy and excited, but news came that a mongoli had been a bomber. Ahmed and Fatima became distressed and they raced home," he said. "They got neighbours to search and one of them identified Amar's head where it lay on the pavement. His body was broken into pieces.

"I have heard of them using dead people and donkeys and dogs to hide their bombs, but how could they do this to a boy like Amar?"

Apparently, Amar triggered the bomb before he got to the intended target. No one else was hurt or killed. But he was not the only one in Baghdad to make a mark on the election. A dirty pair of sneakers were all that remained of another suicide bomber who tried to make his way to another polling station.

A police colonel, Salam Alak al-Asadie, told how his neighbour stopped the bomber. "There was a Sudanese man with a bomb. He looked odd and Naiem Hamoudi Jacobi jumped on him, grabbing at his arms and trying to stop him exploding the device hidden in his clothes. He was so brave. Two policemen who were nearby died, but had Naiem not acted when he did the bomb might have killed a hundred people.

"Voting had been slow till then. But people were so angry they poured out of their homes - even the Sunnis who had said they would not vote."

Naiem Jacobi, 35, was the father of three children. His brother-in-law, Mohammed Bakir, said: "This is the price we have to pay for freedom. But this family has paid too much - 14 of my brothers and relatives were hanged by Saddam during the 1991 rebellion in Najaf. I was advised to flee the country and I did. So did my brother, Salam - he now lives in Sydney, Australia."

Unconfirmed reports of insurgents co-opting two other people with Down syndrome (both plots were foiled) suggest that Amar's death was part of a deliberate city-wide plan, rather than the action of a rogue unit.

very low

Anyway, Iraqi police has their brave ones.

[quicksand 0]

Major development in Iraq

Iraqi insurgents claim to have captured US soldier

Quote[/b] ]Web Site Claims GI Captured in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi militants claimed in a Web statement Tuesday to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the Americans release Iraqi prisoners.

The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants' statements, included a photo of what appeared to be an American soldier in desert fatigues seated with his hands tied behind his back. A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and he is seated in front of a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet."

A statement posted with the picture suggested the group was holding other soldiers.

"Our mujahadeen heroes of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Jihadi Battalion were able to capture American military man John Adam after killing a number of his comrades and capturing the rest," said the statement, signed by the "Mujahedeen Brigades."

"God willing, we will behead him if our female and male prisoners are not released from U.S. prisons within the maximum period of 72 hours from the time this statement has been released," the statement said.

The claim, carried on the Web site ansarnet.ws, could not be verified.

[theavonlady 2]

Major development in Iraq

As sad as it is, why is it major?

If he'd been killed by a bullet, would that also be a major development?

[billybob2002 0]

Quote[/b] ]A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Marine Sgt. Salju K. Thomas, said he had no information on the claim but "we are currently looking into it."

Also,

Quote[/b] ]

The only American soldier known to have been taken hostage is Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, who was shown in a video in April being held by militants. Another video aired in June showed what purported to be Maupin's slaying, but the picture was too unclear to confirm it was him and the military still lists him as missing.

Did you forgot those? NM, you used a different source then the one you posted.

Edit: Furthermore, should I put Major Development in Iraq in my previous post because insurgents used a person that is disabled to spread terror.

[quicksand 0]

Major development in Iraq

As sad as it is, why is it major?

If he'd been killed by a bullet, would that also be a major development?

Because of the much needed boost of moral and confidence it will give the insurgents,for them he is just as valuable trophy as Saddam was.The psyhological impact is self evident in front of US commanders claims to have broken the back of the insurgency and dealt a major setback to them because of the ellection.On the ground it won't change much but in their minds it is a valuable victory.

It's clear cut the insurgents will never win this war by decimating the US forces and force them out of Iraq's boarders.They can only win it by breaking their moral and will to carry on and depressing the population by delivering a clear message they are prepared and able to fight on for many years to come.

[theavonlady 2]

If you say so.

[quicksand 0]

I do and I am able to argument my reasoning.

I also didn't mean to start a debate if the capture of a US soldier is indeed a major development in Iraq or not,it's more important right now if it gets confirmed,what makes me a bit suspicious is his stereotypical name "John Adam" and the fact that no militant appears in the picture.

[Akira 0]

I think a soldier should give his name as I.P. Freely.

[bn880 5]

Well, he would probably be beaten badly soon after.

[SpongeBob 0]

That soldier looks like a doll. Now with side by side goodness:

[Baphomet 0]

Quote[/b] ]That soldier looks like a doll.

Woah! If you look at it... it really does look like that guy...

I thought he looked a bit artificial in that picture myself but when I saw that other picture.... there's quite a resemblance.

Do you think that insurgents would be that crazy/stupid to set up a doll and point a toy gun at it and say they captured an american fighter? Maybe. I dunno. This is weird.

[bn880 5]

Looks quite similar,...

[SpongeBob 0]

Quote[/b] ]That soldier looks like a doll.

Woah! If you look at it... it really does look like that guy...

I thought he looked a bit artificial in that picture myself but when I saw that other picture.... there's quite a resemblance.

Do you think that insurgents would be that crazy/stupid to set up a doll and point a toy gun at it and say they captured an insurgent? Maybe. I dunno. This is weird.

I guess their site was hacked. Or made up just to fool the media.

[Baphomet 0]

Funny thing is... on the AIM today news thing it actually shows that picture of the guy sitting behind the banner.

So it's hitting mainstream media...

[bn880 5]

Yeah, and you can pretty much tell that doll, the camo, the weapon, are a perfect match.

Probably a hacked site if you ask me.

[da12thMonkey 1943]

The way the fabrics in the pic (uniform and the sign) don't look like they're to full human scale at all.

Plus all of the stuff that you can see on the 'soldier' in that pic is in that toy box, and looks exactly the same.

I reckon it's less likely a site hack, more likely insurgents trying to get some prisoners freed without having any real bargaining chips.

[NavyEEL 0]

plus, in the picture it shows a camouflaged m4 being pointed at him... a small detail, but didn't all the other videos feature ak-47/74's, or at least some type of Soviet weapon? i've not once seen a friendly prisoner threatened with an American weapon, maybe it's just me though.

[bn880 5]

Yeah, I was wondering about that, but then thought "how bad for morale".

[quicksand 0]

Well I was suspicious to say the least,but a doll would indeed explain why there is no insurgent in the picture,he would have been six times his size