Troops Find Missile Arsenal
March 24, 2003
From a correspondent with British troops near Basra
BRITISH troops outside Basra have discovered cruise missiles and warheads hidden inside fortified bunkers as part of a massive arsenal abandoned by Saddam Hussein's disintegrating southern army.
Cases of rockets, giant anti-shipping mines and other ammunition were piled from floor to ceiling in dozens of bunkers at what is marked on maps as the Az Zubaya Heliport.
The most disturbing find was two Russian-made Al-Harith anti-shipping cruise missiles, each 6m long and 1m in diameter, and nine warheads, hidden in two enormous reinforced concrete bunkers.
Another missile, as yet unidentified, was found still crated up at the rear of one of the bunkers.
Some of the boxes were clearly marked with the names of British manufacturers.
The scale and possible implications of the weapons find took British forces by surprise and has raised fresh questions about the extent of the Iraqi war machine and the ability of weapons inspectors to cope with the task of scouring such a vast country for prohibited ordnance.
The discovery of the missiles - date-marked 2002 - came as British troops from the Black Watch Regiment fought to secure the area around Iraqi's second city, Basra, in preparation for its capture.
The vast complex, surrounded by chainlink fence and barbed wire, was found to the southwest of the town, defended by a network of earth works and with tanks and other armoured vehicles dug in to the surrounding area.
The defenders had fled after coming under attack from coalition forces.
Outside the perimeter fence were about 40 bunkers packed with a mixture of RPGs and other ammunition.
Inside, 22 larger fortified bunkers contained larger weaponry including the Al-Harith missiles.
The missiles, with Al-Harith 2002 stencilled in red paint on the side, and covered with cyrillic writing, were housed in 20m-long concrete bunkers, 8m high, buried under earth and protected by sliding steel double doors 30cm thick.
Painted grey, the missiles had two wings, each about 60cm in span and three tail fins of a similar size.
There was no indication of the nature of the warheads fitted and experts were called in to examine the find.
Also housed inside the reinforced bunkers were what appeared to be large anti-shipping mines, 1m in diameter, and a host of other munitions.
On one box, written in English, were the words: "Contract AS Navy. 5/1980 Iran."
Corporal Steven Airzee said: "The initial sight was a shock. We were trying to figure out what they were.
"You have to wonder whether the weapons inspectors have been there because they looked pretty big."
The entrance to the heliport was decorated with a picture of Saddam Hussein in military uniform.
The area was surrounded by wrecked vehicles and abandoned sandbagged fox holes, some flying white flags, and was overlooked by a network of watch towers.
There were fears that weapons could have been taken from some of the bunkers lying outside the perimeter fence.
Lieutenant Angus Watson said: "The complex is massive and we were surprised to find a lot of the kit intact, easily enough for a whole brigade."
The troops also discovered hundreds of leaflets lying on the floor, dropped by coalition planes, urging the defenders to surrender.
The leaflets, and evidence of an aerial or artillery attack, appeared to have persuaded the Iraqis to abandon their posts without a fight.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6178105%255E1702,00.html