Leftover munitions from the Iran-Iraq war recycled in insurgent attacks

MANDALI, Iraq - Hundreds of thousands of rusty munitions — leftovers from the Iran (news - web sites)-Iraq (news - web sites) war — are scattered across the green fields and gentle hills of the two countries' common border. Long ignored, they are now being harvested by insurgents who recycle them into crude but highly deadly bombs to use against U.S. and Iraqi troops.


Saddam-era ordnance, repackaged as roadside bombs or bundled together to use in car bomb attacks, has been the leading killer of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Concerned about the growing trend, the military is paying Iraqis thousands of dollars for information about weapons caches.


"The munitions that are stockpiled in this area will for some time to come be a constant source of improvised explosive device material for someone that's willing to take the time to get them," Lt. Col. William M. Hart said.


Hart commands the 1st Squadron of the 278th Regiment from Athens, Tenn. His unit patrols about 60 miles of the Iraq-Iran border where much of the 1980-88 war was fought. It is impossible to know how many insurgent bombs originated from these weedy minefields. But the potential is enormous.

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