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Bomb explodes in bus in Philippines
Police said the number of fatalities in today's bomb explosion inside a passenger bus terminal in Digos City in Davao del Sur rose to five.
Senior Inspector Anthony Padua, chief of the Digos City Philippine National Police (PNP), said the fifth fatality died while being treated at a city hospital.
In a radio interview over Catholic-ran DXND, Padua said the explosive that went off around 2:45 p.m. today, was so powerful that it killed on the spot four passengers and injured 27 others.
Padua said the IED was left by one of the passengers who could have boarded the bus somewhere between Sta. Cruz town and Digos City in Davao del Sur.
The passengers onboard Metro Shuttle Bus, with body number 209, had just disembarked at the terminal when the IED exploded, the police officer said.
The bus is enroute to Malita, a town in Davao Del Sur, which is about two hours drive from Digos City.
The explosion was so powerful it ripped the rear and middle portion of the bus, Padua said.
The police hinted that extortion could be one of the motives behind the explosion.
The Metro Shuttle is one of the many bus companies plying the Davao-Cotabato highway that has received extortion threats from an extortion group operating in central Mindanao.
The casualties of the Digos City terminal bombing were rushed to different hospitals in the city.
This was the second worst bombing that hit Digos City since July this year.
Early in July, one passenger died and 35 others were hurt when an IED exploded inside a Metro Shuttle bus inside the public bus terminal. (PNA) Police said the number of fatalities in today's bomb explosion inside a passenger bus terminal in Digos City in Davao del Sur ros... more -
Afghan roadside bombs hit four-year peak
Roadside bomb incidents involving U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan hit their highest level in at least four years between April and June, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
There was a peak of about 200 such incidents in Afghanistan in the three-month period, data released by a Defense Department office that oversees efforts to thwart attacks by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in Iraq and Afghanistan showed.
About 120 of the devices exploded, including some 40 that resulted in U.S. and NATO casualties, the data showed. Western forces discovered and cleared another 80 before they could be detonated by insurgents. Roadside bomb incidents involving U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan hit their highest level in at least four years between April and... more -
U.S. Troops in Iraq Face Flying I.E.D.'s
BAGHDAD, July 9 -- Suspected Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in recent months, broadening the array of weapons used against American troops.
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. They are often fired by remote control from the backs of trucks, sometimes in close succession. Rocket-propelled bombs have killed at least 21 people, including at least three U.S. soldiers, this year.
The latest reported rocket-propelled bomb attack occurred Tuesday at Joint Security Station Ur, a base in northeastern Baghdad shared by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. One U.S. soldier and an interpreter were wounded in the attack.
U.S. military officials say IRAM attacks, unlike roadside bombings and conventional mortar or rocket attacks, have the potential to kill scores of soldiers at once. IRAMs are fired at close range, unlike most rockets, and create much larger explosions. Most such attacks have occurred in the capital, Baghdad.
The use of the rocket-propelled bombs reflects militiamen's ability to use commonly available materials and relatively low-tech weaponry to circumvent security measures that have cost the U.S. military billions of dollars. To combat roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs, U.S. and Iraqi troops have set up scores of checkpoints throughout the capital, increased patrols and purchased hundreds of armored vehicles that can resist such attacks.
A June report on the Web site Long War Journal called the explosives-filled propane tanks "flying IEDs."
Militia members and insurgents have at times increased the sophistication of their weapons, but the rocket-propelled bombs are makeshift devices that also have been used in recent years by insurgents in Colombia. Propane tanks are ubiquitous in Iraq, where the fuel is widely used for cooking, making it hard for security forces to stop production of the bombs.
U.S. military officials in Baghdad have noted the use of rocket-propelled bombs in press releases in recent months. But they have not publicly discussed their use or their concerns about the weapons at length because most of the information about them is classified, U.S. military officials said.
"IRAM attacks could be very tragic against us," said Col. William B. Hickman, the commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, which operates in northwestern Baghdad. "We take them very seriously."
As the number of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad has begun to drop with the end of the "surge" of additional forces, U.S. military officials are placing a higher percentage of their troops in small outposts in densely populated neighborhoods. U.S. military officials say this is crucial to ensure the continued training of Iraq's security forces, win the trust of the capital's residents and improve local governance. But deployments in small outposts -- some are manned by just one platoon -- also have made soldiers more vulnerable.
To counter the threat posed by rocket-propelled bombs, soldiers have stepped up patrols around outposts, fortified their buildings and offered tens of thousands of dollars for information about networks that use the weapon.
The weapon first emerged as a threat here last fall and has become a top concern in recent months following a series of deadly attacks.
Most such attacks have been carried out during the day and some have been videotaped and aired on the satellite television station operated by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political movement. U.S. military officials said they have found Iranian-made 107mm rockets at some of the blast sites, which they said suggests the weapons -- or parts -- may have come from Iran. BAGHDAD, July 9 -- Suspected Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in re... more -
Real Life Iron Man?
Troy Hurtubise is a Canadian body armor designer who's built the IED-survivable Ursus suit. Here's a vid of Troy playing with his new Trojan II armor.
Oh, he's also bat-shit insane. Troy Hurtubise is a Canadian body armor designer who's built the IED-survivable Ursus suit. Here's a vid of Troy playing wit... more -
New Years eve 2008 IED fireworks blowing up food
Gone with the traditional fireworks 2008 is time for blowing up a pumpkin and bottle of drink
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Military adds armor to protect troops in Iraq
Congress OK's $22 billion for 15,000 blast-resistant vehicles
The U.S. military is reinforcing the sides of its topline mine-resistant vehicles to shore up what could be weak points as troops see a spike in armor-piercing roadside bombings across Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.
This is my favorite quote from the article.......
"We naturally are conscious of cost, and conscious of how much America has sacrificed to put all that capability in the hands of soldiers," said Speakes. "But when you hear a division commander just say 'thank you ... I estimate you've saved 40 of my soldier's lives,' it kind of puts it all in a different perspective."
Better late then never, I guess.....Check it out
Peace Congress OK's $22 billion for 15,000 blast-resistant vehicles ... more -
Explosive charge blows up in US' face
When the United States military command accused the Iranian Quds Force in January of providing the armor-piercing EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) that were killing US troops, it knew that Iraqi machine shops had been producing their own EFPs for years, a review of the historical record of evidence on EFPs in Iraq shows.
The record also shows that the US command had considerable evidence that the Mahdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had received the technology and the training on how to use it from Hezbollah, rather than Iran.
The command, operating under close White House supervision, chose to deny these facts in making the dramatic accusation that became the main rationale for the present aggressive US stance toward Iran. Although the George W Bush administration initially limited the accusation to the Quds Force, it has recently begun to assert that top officials of the Iranian regime are responsible for arms that are killing US troops.
... When the United States military command accused the Iranian Quds Force in January of providing the armor-piercing EFPs (explosively fo... more -
This is what our troops are up against...
I had no idea that the IED's are this size! This is somewhat graphic, but a very wide shot showing the amazing explosive power of a roadside bomb. I had no idea that the IED's are this size! This is somewhat graphic, but a very wide shot showing the amazing explosive power of... more
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80000 cans of silly string sent to Iraq soldiers
Mom's grass roots campaign pays off with enough to help troops search for tripwires
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