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New weapon joins Laden search probe promised in convoy attack
Armed with a new weapon that can turn caves and tunnels into fiery graves, US-led forces have combed eastern Afghanistan for signs of Osama bin Laden as US officials insisted an air strike on an afghan convoy was justified.
Armed with a new weapon that can turn caves and tunnels into fiery graves, US-led forces have combed eastern Afghanistan for signs of Osama bin Laden as US officials insisted an air strike on an afghan convoy was justified.
The whereabouts of bin Laden remained a mystery. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told Chinese state television there is a strong possibility the Saudi-born militant was killed in the intense US bombardment of his Tora Bora stronghold, while the US-allied Afghan commander in the area said bin Laden has probably fled to Pakistan. Pentagon officials said us bombers that have been pounding suspected hideouts of bin laden and his al-Qaeda network will soon be equipped with a powerful new Thermobaric Bomb that can suck the oxygen out of caves.
Ten of the laser-guided weapons were to be shipped to the region after a successful test last week in Nevada, officials said. Each Thermobaric Bomb -- also called a fuel-air explosive -- contains two explosive devices and a highly flammable chemical that sends a deadly shock wave through enclosed spaces such as caves and tunnels without collapsing them.
The warhead is a container of fuel and two explosive charges. The first charge disperses the fuel as it detonates. A second charge then detonates the billowing cloud of fuel. Experts say such bombs tend to be far more powerful than conventional high explosives, and are more likely to kill or injure people hiding in caves, bunkers and similar shelters because they can suck the air out of such places.
Bureau Report
The whereabouts of bin Laden remained a mystery. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told Chinese state television there is a strong possibility the Saudi-born militant was killed in the intense US bombardment of his Tora Bora stronghold, while the US-allied Afghan commander in the area said bin Laden has probably fled to Pakistan. Pentagon officials said us bombers that have been pounding suspected hideouts of bin laden and his al-Qaeda network will soon be equipped with a powerful new Thermobaric Bomb that can suck the oxygen out of caves.
Ten of the laser-guided weapons were to be shipped to the region after a successful test last week in Nevada, officials said. Each Thermobaric Bomb -- also called a fuel-air explosive -- contains two explosive devices and a highly flammable chemical that sends a deadly shock wave through enclosed spaces such as caves and tunnels without collapsing them.
The warhead is a container of fuel and two explosive charges. The first charge disperses the fuel as it detonates. A second charge then detonates the billowing cloud of fuel. Experts say such bombs tend to be far more powerful than conventional high explosives, and are more likely to kill or injure people hiding in caves, bunkers and similar shelters because they can suck the air out of such places.
Bureau Report