U.S. Troops in Iraq Face a Powerful New Weapon: Rocket-Propelled Bombs

[Washington Post ] Ernesto Londono - Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in recent months. U.S. military officials call the devices Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, or IRAMs. They are propane tanks packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives and powered by 107mm rockets, often fired by remote control from the backs of trucks, sometimes in close succession. U.S. military officials say IRAM attacks have the potential to kill scores of soldiers at once. A June report on the Web site Long War Journal called the explosives-filled propane tanks "flying IEDs."


2008-07-10 01:00:00

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