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| Iraq |
| Suicide speedboat intercepted |
| 2003-03-26 |
| More evidence that the Iraqi regime easily adopts al Qaeda tactics. Coalition naval forces were on high alert against suicide attacks after Iranian gunboats intercepted an Iraqi speedboat packed with half a tonne of high explosive. Three other Iraqi speedboats, which it is feared may contain similar amounts of explosive, got away when Iranian forces engaged Iraqis at the mouth of the Shatt-al-Arab River. The explosives were discovered after one of the Iraqi boats was run aground during the confrontation. British, American and Australian warships in the region have been on high alert for the risk of al-Qaeda strikes. But the discovery of the Iraqi speedboats is the first definite physical evidence that suicide attacks are being planned in the region. Before the war started Rear Admiral David Snelson, the British naval commander in the Gulf, said the threat of small speedboats packed with explosives was "uppermost in his mind" in terms of threats to the Royal Navy. All 30 navy and Royal Fleet auxiliary vessels in the Gulf have mounted round-the-clock force protection squads on deck. Armed with general-purpose machine guns, the squads have permission to open fire on vessels if they continue to close on a ship after ignoring signals and warning shots across the bow. The Australian warship Kanimbla which is responsible for orchestrating the clearance of the Kwahrade Abdalla river to allow humanitarian aid into Iraq, also has more than 20 heavily armed boarding passes of Royal Marines and other specialist troops operating out of rigid rubber inflatable boats. |
| Posted by:Kerry |
| #5 RE: BBC imbedded reporter in Kerry's comments It's a bit of a roaring sea out here in the Gulf at the moment and the ship is tilting acutely at times. Now there is an old sea dog for ye. Don Quixote tilted at windmills, while ships PITCH and ROLL. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-26 10:30:43 |
| #4 Embedded reporter with BBC on these speedboats USS Mobile :: Brian Barron :: 0916GMT It's a bit of a roaring sea out here in the Gulf at the moment and the ship is tilting acutely at times. There is also a rolling fog now which will hinder flying from this and the other carriers around me. The Iraqi navy, in the sense of a real navy, no longer exists. Under sanctions it was never allowed to build itself up. They did build up about 100 hyper speedboats which have operated from ports like Umm Qasr. It is understood that the crews of these speedboats are missing and that coalition vessels have to be alert to suicide attacks in the waters off the Al Faw peninsula. |
| Posted by: Kerry 2003-03-26 05:45:18 |
| #3 After the missile attack a couple days ago, the Iranians couldn't be sure of that boat's intentions. It seems to me they have an oil terminal near the mouth of the Shatt-al-Arab. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-03-26 00:47:02 |
| #2 Iran joins the coalition! Or at least the target practice. |
| Posted by: B. 2003-03-26 00:33:27 |
| #1 Um, isn't a "suicide speedboat" packed with explosives supposed to go "boom" when run aground? Criminy, these guys can't get anything right! |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-26 00:31:52 |