Terrorists Using Chlorine Car Bombs to Intimidate Iraqis

American Forces Press Service

June 6, 2007 – Anyone who doubts that al Qaeda would use chemical, nuclear or biological weapons need only look at the terror group's attacks in Iraq, Defense officials said. Al Qaeda and affiliated groups have used chlorine gas in attacks against civilians, Iraqi forces and coalition forces at least 15 times since October, according to U.S. officials in Baghdad.

"Chlorine is used by terrorists with the intent to harm or kill large numbers of civilians," an official said. "The attacks show that the terrorists are adaptable, but it reflects more on their maliciousness than their sophistication."

The first documented chlorine attack was Oct. 21, 2006, in Ramadi, a Multinational Force Iraq spokeswoman said. In that attack, terrorists drove a car bomb with 12 120 mm mortar shells and two 100-pound chlorine tanks. The attack wounded three Iraqi police officers and a civilian.

The first attack that received media attention was at Taji, where terrorists remotely detonated a 5-ton truck packed with 100 pounds of high explosives and two 1-ton chlorine tanks. The attack killed one civilian and wounded 114 others.

Other chlorine attacks occurred in Fallujah, Balad and Ramadi. The most recent attack was June 3 against Forward Operating Base Warhorse, in Diyala province. Again, a suicide car bomber launched the attack, and officials estimate it included two tanks of chlorine and 1,000 pounds of explosive. The cloud from the attack blew over Warhorse and sickened 65 servicemembers, Multinational Force Iraq officials said. All were examined and returned to duty.

Officials in Baghdad cannot tell from their records if anyone has died from chlorine inhalation. A Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said there are anecdotal reports that while the blasts from the attacks have killed, few have died solely from the gas. "We hear that an old man and some babies may have been killed, but we can't pin that down," the spokesman said.

"We have seen attempts made by insurgent forces - al Qaeda in particular - to use debilitating agents like chlorine in their (improvised explosive devices and car bombs) to cause casualties beyond just concussion and blast," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Whitman said the attacks have been of limited effectiveness, but that does not lessen concerns. "We continue to look at ways to prevent those materials from making their way to those who plant explosive devices," he said.

This is a difficult proposition because many chemicals, like chlorine, have legitimate civilian uses. Chlorine is used to purify water and in other industrial processes.

Without getting into details that could jeopardize operational security, U.S. servicemembers have gear to protect them from such weapons, a Pentagon official said. So the terrorists aim the weapon at civilians in an effort to intimidate populations.

"The car bombs themselves are designed to target innocent civilians," Whitman said. "It reflects the brutality of the enemy we are facing and the total disregard of life to use such an indiscriminate nature."

Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.

General Discusses Chlorine Bombs, Helicopter Shoot-downs

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 22, 2007 – The enemy in Iraq is adaptive, and is interested in "catastrophic attacks," the commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq said today. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, met with Pentagon reporters over a satellite link from Baghdad. Insurgents blew up a tanker filled with chlorine yesterday in southern Baghdad. The attack killed at least two people and wounded more than 30. Coalition officials in Baghdad said this could be an escalation in the insurgent attacks.

The attacks are meant to cause fear, and chlorine gas - which was used as a chemical agent in World War I - could be an attempt to cause more fear, officials said.

U.S. soldiers operating 12 miles northwest of Fallujah discovered a car bomb factory Feb. 20, Odierno said. They found numerous artillery rounds, mortar rounds, bombs, rockets, gutted anti-aircraft shells, a pickup truck and three other vehicles that were already in various stages of preparations as car bombs.

"We also found ingredients to be used to devise or enhance explosives such as fertilizer and chlorine cylinders," the general said.

The introduction of chlorine illustrates that the enemy continues to alter its tactics, Odierno said.

"What they're trying to do is try to adapt in such ways where they can continue to create instability, and that's what they're doing, especially with these chlorine (vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices)," he said.

But as the enemy changes its tactics, he noted, so will coalition forces.

The general said eight coalition helicopters have been shot down since Jan. 20. A UH-60 Black Hawk came down yesterday north of Baghdad. The cause of that downing is still being investigated, Odierno said, but initial reports indicate enemy fire brought it down.

"We are aggressively examining the conditions of each incident and adapting tactics and techniques to address the issue."

The helicopters may have run into enemy ambush sites, Odierno said.

"We are studying those intently, and we're trying to learn from those, and we will learn from those and we will adapt our tactics," he said. "I think they've probably been trying to do this for a long time, but my guess is we have a cell out there that's somewhat effective."

Article sponsored by online criminal justice leadership; and, police personnel and military personnel who have become authors.