Iraq's New Danger: Armor-Piercing Grenades

(CBS)  An al Qaeda propaganda video dated Aug. 15, 2006, shows a brazen attack on U.S. soldiers with a hand grenade that's more deadly than any other. The explosion is huge, as three armor-piercing bombs find their target.

It's not a new weapon on the Iraqi battlefield, but CBS News has learned it's being used more now than ever. And for the first time, the Army has admitted this weapon is killing its soldiers.

Capt. Benjamin Jones, of the U.S. Army's 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Div., led CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan to the place where he lost a young soldier, Jeremiah Vietch, to one of these hand grenades in June.

"The vehicle was right there, and they had thrown a grenade right over that wall," Jones says, pointing to a barrier.

Pfc. Vietch, 21, of Fort Carson's 2nd Brigade "Warriors," died after the explosive penetrated his armored vehicle in Baghdad's violent Dora neighborhood.

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Complete Coverage: America In Iraq: The Road Ahead

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So did "Warriors" Pvt. Steven Davis, less than two weeks later - on the July 4 holiday - also in Dora, a key strategic area al Qaeda desperately wants to take back from U.S. soldiers.

The terrorist group has been eager to take credit for the use of this lethal weapon.

Three months ago, their organization in Iraq announced the creation of a new "Thermal Brigade" and paraded men dressed in black and holding weapons in a video posted on the Internet.

They even used diagrams to show how this Russian-made weapon actually works.

Those diagrams matched military explanations obtained by CBS News: When the pin is pulled and the grenade is thrown, a small parachute is released. It stabilizes the grenade and ensures that it comes down vertically on its target.

The shape charge inside punches through the armor, and slow-burning explosives are released to ensure the deadliest effect.

During the battle in Dora, the Army says more and more of these hand grenades are being used.

In firefights, like the one that suddenly broke out during Logan's visit last week, it's yet another worry for the soldiers.

Capt. Jim Keirsey says the armor-piercing hand grenades were used against his men on a street corner in a massive complex attack that killed five soldiers at the end of July.

In another attack, Staff Sgt. Paul Crenshaw was almost killed by one just a few yards down the road when it was thrown over a wall into his vehicle, wounding him and his gunner.

The soldiers say it's impossible to know when ordinary-looking civilians at the side of the road will suddenly launch their deadly weapons - and that makes attacks like this just about impossible to stop.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by oakishpines

Sounds like LSD, and I mean the good stuff we used to get in the late sixties and early seventies, 4 way, blotter, owl, etc.

Do you still have a stash hidden away from way back then? I wouldn''t mind scoring some of that...

[oakishpines]

'' ... slaves were considered relatively high dollar assets that typically were little more likely to be thrown through a window to their deaths than a thousand or three thousand dollar computer ... wives and children, however, were slaves that functioned as liabilities and were far more likely to be put a day or few out of work than were field slaves ... ''



'' ... whuts extremely bizarre about slavery is that it only took something like three percent of three percent of folk to slave entire populations ... the first thing that should have popped into their minds was: ''ohmagosh, if we can slave populations with three percent of three percent, then our enemys can slave lil ol us with less than three percent of three percent of three percent of three percent ... ''


'' ... let''s invest 99% to those max wage folk what cuff cage collar and 1% to those min wage folk whut mug rape kill and 1% of 1% to those whut each give market share and other stuff to fifty folk what also each give market share and other stuff away to fifty folk each day for free ... ''


'' ... don''t dance porno get sick tax world get well feed world songs rallied round sick beds drifting farm trails and rallied round well beds racing farm trails ... ''

[socrates392]

I hate lars008. I wish they would ban her. I''m sick of her pasting *** under every news story--the same ***, over and over . . . its getting really old . . .

[drummer94]

we chased lars right into his other thing,oakish...hahaha

[oakishpines]

'' ... after the civil war, 80+% of the u.s. were self employed farmers, a hundred years later, i work for a company that publicly and regularly demonstrates that it refuses to be self sufficient ... ''


'' ... it isn''t that little militant girls can''t make a living by marrying and slaving civilian men, it is just that militant men have a thing for disciplining and choring little militant girls ... ''


'' ... there''s nothing wrong with not liking beets or hairy women or naked girls, but denying those who like beets and hairy women and naked girls access to congress could almost me construed as oppressive if life were supposed to be fair ... ''


'' ... it isn''t that little girls can''t provide for my needs or that they don''t want to, they are very crafty and kind, but the general promised he would, so i keep waiting ... of course the general also said it only takes a few to feed the world and the army''s too busy taxing the world to be that few what feed it ... ''


'' ... i was number 3.5 billion, but no one listened when i said the ignorant naked kids are freed from thousands of years of being made to disappear, now i''m number one and my survival depends upon my military skill and not only does no one listen, but they''re all trying to kill me ... ''

[drummer94]

larsygirlranaway................figures

[drummer94]

probably lookin for something to paste..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

[drummer94]

lars,hey lars you idiot, whereda go?You puss.

[nggr]

I''m sure if you follow the money, the U.S is paying for these weapons inadvertantly somehow

[drummer94]

Yup. lars is apuss. A repug puss no less.