Taliban running out of ordinance?
It appears that despite profits from the sale of dope, the Taliban have not found a source for munitions to be used in improvised explosive devices. This is an interesting development for enemy logistics. The larger more bulky IED's will be more difficult to disguise and they will require more effort to put them in place. The vehicles used to transport them will also be easier to spot because of the heavier loads. It may also be easier to find their suppliers for fertilizer and shut down their logistic train.In Afghanistan, the Taliban have apparently run out of munitions left over from the 1980s war with Russia, and are increasingly using fertilizer based explosives for their roadside bombs. Mix fertilizer with the right amount of diesel or gasoline, use a detonator to set it off, and it goes off like second rate explosives.
Fertilizer explosives are bulkier than the kind of military explosives found in 1980s era bombs and shells. The explosive power varies with the skill of whoever is mixing the fertilizer and fuel. Thus the roadside bombs are often less powerful than the ones using military or commercial explosives, and often much larger and easier to spot. NATO troops, learning from their Iraqi experienced U.S. counterparts, are getting more effective at spotting these bombs.
Currently, about 90 percent of the roadside bombs are detected and disarmed or destroyed before they can hurt anyone....
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