Friday, October 17, 2003

Two Exocet missiles — clearly labeled as such and stamped "AEROSPATIALE" — lie on the ground several hundred yards away. They seem to have been rendered largely useless by the bombing, but parts may be of some value.

The best-preserved missile, the 15-footer, appeared to be another Exocet, though because of the container's position against the wall, only the cone could be seen. The writing on the shipping tube, in French and English, was inconclusive.

Outside in the rubble was a shoulder-fired SA-7, a Russian-made surface-to-air missile, caked with dirt.

It is impossible to know how much has been looted from this factory. In the desert about five miles away is the shell of a truck. Bedouins said the truck had belonged to looters who were captured several weeks ago by Americans.

The desert sand around where the truck was found is littered with mounds of mortar and artillery shells. Most of them appeared to have been defused, but a few live, small rockets, as well as several hundred live large caliber rounds, were found among the litter. It is not clear how the munitions got here.

The issue of unguarded Iraqi ammunition dumps has taken on greater urgency recently as the pace of bomb attacks against American forces and other targets has increased. Military officials say much of the explosives being used in the attacks come from ammunition sites like this one, which had once belonged to Mr. Hussein's army.

As if to underscore the threat, six rockets were fired on Wednesday into the green zone in Baghdad, the heavily guarded cocoon that protects senior American officials, including L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator. No one was hurt. It was the second such attack.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/17/international/middleeast/17IRAQ.html

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