Article

2004-02-19

Ya know that train blast in Iran? May not have been fertilizer.

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by PlanetDan 2004-02-19 8:44:07 AM|| || Front Page|| [8 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 This story makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I like to think 90% of the real action is under the radar, like mysterious train blasts.

Posted by Anonymous 2004-2-19 8:54:31 AM|| 2004-2-19 8:54:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 ....rocked houses 50 miles away....
Holey moley, speak of MOABs.

Better one big blast in Iran than hundreds of smaller ones in Afghanistan. Someone is to be congratulated. It's gonna be awhile before that conduit is flowing again.

Posted by GK 2004-2-19 9:21:02 AM|| 2004-2-19 9:21:02 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 I dunno. "Hundreds of tons" of explosives seems to me to be less than useful for terrorists and guerillas. Hard to move, hard to hide, hard to deal with.

I could be wrong, and wouldn't at all be surprised if it were sabotage, but I doubt that aspect of the story.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-2-19 9:29:22 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-2-19 9:29:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Special Ops? mmmmmmm

Posted by dataman1 2004-2-19 9:54:32 AM|| 2004-2-19 9:54:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 "Hundreds of tons" of explosives seems to me to be less than useful for terrorists and guerillas.

Hundreds of tons of explosives can also mean rockets, mortar rounds, mines, etc. The description of the blast sounds to me like a classic ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion, like the Texas City explosion in 1947. That one killed 600 people and was heard 150 miles away.

Posted by Steve 2004-2-19 9:57:06 AM|| 2004-2-19 9:57:06 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Steve, you are probably right. That explosion was awesome.

Posted by dataman1 2004-2-19 10:05:15 AM|| 2004-2-19 10:05:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 It's DEBKA, so probably 50% is flat wrong and the rest just garbled.

Posted by someone 2004-2-19 11:10:34 AM|| 2004-2-19 11:10:34 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Popcorn...check.
Diet soda pop...check.
Tin foil hat...check.

Posted by Dragon Fly 2004-2-19 11:53:45 AM|| 2004-2-19 11:53:45 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Too bad it wasn't a trainload of mullahs!

Posted by Craig 2004-2-19 1:27:52 PM|| 2004-2-19 1:27:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Someone:
Don't discount DEBKa just because they're biased. After all, if you do that you have to discount.... well, every news source. Sift and compare, sift and compare. That is presumably why you are joining us here at Rantburg today.

Posted by Secret Master 2004-2-19 1:37:58 PM|| [www.budgetwarrior.com] 2004-2-19 1:37:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Debka's scroll last night read that there were 182,000 causalities from the explosion. I hope it was a "fat finger" error rather than reporting. I check them regularly but sometimes the articles have to be parsed.

Posted by whitecollar redneck 2004-2-19 6:26:35 PM|| 2004-2-19 6:26:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#12

Will the French appease/surrender/blame the Jews? Again.

Of course.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2004-2-19 9:55:08 PM|| 2004-2-19 9:55:08 PM|| Front Page Top

09:54 Anonymous
13:42 Daniel King
23:51 Anonymouse
23:19 Barbara Skolaut
23:16 Barbara Skolaut
23:14 Barbara Skolaut
23:03 Barbara Skolaut
22:57 OldSpook
22:26 Bomb-a-rama
22:09 whitecollar redneck
22:04 Jarhead
22:02 whitecollar redneck
21:55 Barbara Skolaut
21:50 rkb
21:41 tu3031
21:34 Alaska Paul
21:32 Alaska Paul
20:46 wuzzalib
20:46 ruprecht
20:41 ruprecht
20:41 Lone Ranger
20:38 Eric Jablow
20:33 Alaska Paul
20:19 JDB