Unefficiant Attacks.
I have decided to write a post on some of the funny attacks the Fedayeen and terrorists would carry out. People may think that my website covers most of the my time and experiences in Iraq, however that is not the case. I started blogging near the end of my time there. So, there are many untold stories that I have locked away in my head.
The insurgence has become ingenious with making their own tools for war. We have recovered home made rocket launchers and of course IEDs. The Al-Rasheed hotel attack that took place several months ago would have been worse. It was reported that 8 rockets hit the hotel. What people don't know is, there were about 20 rockets total. Only 8 of 20 rockets fired. The guy who created the launch system had wired the rockets wrong. So, when the rockets fired, it burned the wires connecting to the other rockets. So, there were 12 unexpended rockets. The attack took place only between a mile and 2 miles from us, and my friends told me it shook the house. I slept through it, and only heard about it when I saw the news and my friends laughed that I slept through it. It is more common then it is made out in the news. Maybe due to the publicity the attacks made. There has now been dozens of rocket systems much the same that have been found. I don't know if they were ever used, some of them probably were, but they all get the same problem with not all the rockets firing like they are supposed to.
One incident that also happened in the heart of the city. My friends stayed at a different compound and told me about this time when these Iraqis had also made up home made shoulder fired rocket launchers. The only problem was, they used rockets a helicopter would fire. So, once the rockets came out of the tube, immediately it would fly out only about 20 feet and hit the ground and explode. The one guy who fired it hurt pretty bad from the shrapnel, but was in good enough condition to talk. He completely denied it, which seemed really typical, that if you caught them red handed they would always deny it. His friends ran away, and you could hear them laughing about their poor friends misfortune. The thing is, the rocket fires out of the tube in a helicopter, then a second later, it ignites. This is very unsafe to use as a shoulder fired rocket. In another case, they tried to do the SAME thing again, only from a bridge on the river next to their compound. The rockets also fell into the water. The would be attackers were never caught.
The insurgence has become ingenious with making their own tools for war. We have recovered home made rocket launchers and of course IEDs. The Al-Rasheed hotel attack that took place several months ago would have been worse. It was reported that 8 rockets hit the hotel. What people don't know is, there were about 20 rockets total. Only 8 of 20 rockets fired. The guy who created the launch system had wired the rockets wrong. So, when the rockets fired, it burned the wires connecting to the other rockets. So, there were 12 unexpended rockets. The attack took place only between a mile and 2 miles from us, and my friends told me it shook the house. I slept through it, and only heard about it when I saw the news and my friends laughed that I slept through it. It is more common then it is made out in the news. Maybe due to the publicity the attacks made. There has now been dozens of rocket systems much the same that have been found. I don't know if they were ever used, some of them probably were, but they all get the same problem with not all the rockets firing like they are supposed to.
One incident that also happened in the heart of the city. My friends stayed at a different compound and told me about this time when these Iraqis had also made up home made shoulder fired rocket launchers. The only problem was, they used rockets a helicopter would fire. So, once the rockets came out of the tube, immediately it would fly out only about 20 feet and hit the ground and explode. The one guy who fired it hurt pretty bad from the shrapnel, but was in good enough condition to talk. He completely denied it, which seemed really typical, that if you caught them red handed they would always deny it. His friends ran away, and you could hear them laughing about their poor friends misfortune. The thing is, the rocket fires out of the tube in a helicopter, then a second later, it ignites. This is very unsafe to use as a shoulder fired rocket. In another case, they tried to do the SAME thing again, only from a bridge on the river next to their compound. The rockets also fell into the water. The would be attackers were never caught.
