Weapons: <b>November 10, 2003</b>

November 10, 2003

November 5, 2003: Task Force Ironhorse soldiers conducted a raid on a suspected safe house near al-Hadid, believed to be used by those involved in mortar attacks against forward operating base Warhorse. They discovered and confiscated a weapons cache of 33 blocks of explosives, 98 feet of detonation cord, 20 blasting caps, and other munitions used to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), as well as some small arms and munitions. No one was detained as a result of the raid, but a terrain model of both forward operating base Warhorse and Scunion were found in the building, indicating that the place had been used for planning attacks against coalition forces.

There are estimated 600,000 tons of ordnance laying around Iraq and the enemy is getting smarter every single day on how to use it. So far coalition troops have encountered disguised static and movable IEDs, improvised grenades and IEDs placed in, on or under the target. They have been camouflaged as an ordinary pile of rocks, stuffed inside of dead animal carcasses or hidden within bits of car wreckage strewn across the highways.

Attacks on vehicles have been the most prevalent, with the enemy targeting intersections and roundabouts, on and under bridges and overpasses, on verges and breaks in the median strips, when passing through defiles, and on the open highways. The enemy is also employing multiple IEDs in a daisy-chain fashion; targeting ground forces and fixed installations; employing "come on" tactics, items that attract personnel into the kill zone; and secondary IEDs (after the initial devices have detonated). The most-often seen method of detonation has the charge linked by wire strands to the battery positive and negative terminals', with one wire slightly separated from the charge. Connected to a piece of string that runs about 50 meters back to where the attackers lie in wait as the convoy approaches, a swift tug on the string completes the electrical circuit and detonates the bomb.

Most of the attacks to date have been aimed at supply convoys or patrols in soft skin vehicles (like Humvees). The supply convoys have taken to driving fast in the middle of the highways (since the mines are often placed along the side of the roads). The first attacks were simply blasts, but more frequently the terrorists have fired off a volley of RPG or AK rounds. The bombers are also initiating their attacks early in the evening, when it's harder to spot the indicators of where mines are hidden.

Two recent incidents illustrate how the terrorists are targeting armored vehicles, in addition to the usual soft skins found in supply convoys. Two armored personnel carriers with 17 Ukrainian peacekeepers were ambushed on the night of October 28 near As Suwayrah, northwest of their base at Kut. Three mines exploded under the vehicles and the terrorists then opened fire. Five wounded were hospitalized in Baghdad, and the two others suffered only slight injuries. Earlier in the day, the enemy used a roadside bomb disabled an M1A2 SEP Abrams tank from 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment. The blast killing two crew members and wounding a third. The attack was about (40 kilometers northeast of Balad). An unidentified US defense official said an IED was detonated underneath the tank and the force of the blast caused it to roll over a 30 foot embankment.

While the number of casualties caused by IEDs are growing, coalition forces are doing everything possible to prepare their troops with needed awareness training. Complacency has proven to be one of the worst enemies for the coalition forces. Troops just coming into theater aren't getting hurt, but those who have been in Iraq for a year that are getting sloppy. There have been several suggestions to make it more difficult for the enemy to pick a target, including altering routes and times, having clearly understood and well-rehearsed procedures, and always binge on the lookout for suspicious activity and indicators of possible IEDs. - Adam Geibel