This is not good

[EricTheRed 0]

Looks like putting armor on Humvees might not help much if there are more of these...
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12385

BAGHDAD - Two US soldiers were killed and four wounded Monday when a bomb blast ripped through an Abrams tank in southwestern Baghdad, the US army said.

"A patrol reported striking an improvised explosive device, destroying an Abrams tank. The wounded were evacuated to a military medical treatment facility," the 1st Cavalry Division said in a statement.

illegible usually

[mr2mk1g 10]

That's far from being the first such event.

If you're using unexploded munitions it's a lot easier to simply leave the thing whole rather than attempt to deconstruct it and produce many smaller explosives out of it.

Thus if you start with an unexploded 1000lb bomb you make a big bang when you detonate it... it doesn't really matter what you're in when that sort of thing goes off.

[EricTheRed 0]

I certainly understand this but isn't it kinda tough to hide a 1000 lb bomb?
Not to mention that it takes more than a couple of guys and a packpack to move it around.

illegible usually

[mr2mk1g 10]

True - but the clips I've seen of this sort of attack involve either dirt/poor roads or piles of rubble - both of which are relatively common in Iraq.

There was a clip released last week (I think - certainly v. recently) of a large blast taking out an armoured vehicle. That appeared to have been hidden in a large pile of rubble along side the road.

Or you just build it into a car and park her up by the road.

Moving it before hiding it is another question altogether as you rightly point out.

[billvon 3,120]

> I certainly understand this but isn't it kinda tough to hide a 1000 lb bomb?

?? Even low-tech insurgents have access to shovels. And when you're looking at a bomb-cratered road that's been repaired hundreds of times, it might be hard to spot the 'repair' that's really a filled in hole.

[EricTheRed 0]

Quote

> I certainly understand this but isn't it kinda tough to hide a 1000 lb bomb?

?? Even low-tech insurgents have access to shovels. And when you're looking at a bomb-cratered road that's been repaired hundreds of times, it might be hard to spot the 'repair' that's really a filled in hole.

Agreed Bill,

I'm not saying that it takes a great deal of skill but it does require a much more significant outlay of resources and manpower to plant bombs this big. To me it shows that the "insurgants" are being at least tacitly supported by the local population. It clearly show an escalation of firepower in the IED's being used.

I hope they don't have access to many more bombs.

illegible usually

[billvon 3,120]

>To me it shows that the "insurgants" are being at least tacitly supported
>by the local population.

Agreed. It will be hard for us to control any country where the local population is against us, even if they engage in no overt hostile action. Most of the Al Qaeda arrests have been made by our allies, by allies who will not tolerate Al Qaeda activity within their borders. When we lose that advantage against insurgents it's very hard to overcome.

> It clearly show an escalation of firepower in the IED's being used.

Unfortunately, there's no real limit to the amount of firepower they have access to. The amount of conventional munitions that went missing after we invaded is truly staggering.