Roadside bombs camouflaged as rocks in Yemen have many similarities to IEDs used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and by insurgents in Iraq and Bahrain, suggesting an Iranian influence in their fabrication. Electronics in RCIEDs recovered by Conflict Armament Research investigators in Bahrain were identical in design, construction, and material to those used in RCIEDs recovered from Houthi forces in Yemen. The new report by Conflict Armament Research was released as the US and United Nations researchers accused Iran of supplying arms to Yemen’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who have held the country’s capital since September 2014.
Dailymail Article Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-5543161/Bombs-disguised-rocks-Yemen-Iranian-aid.html
About the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) report…
Conflict Armament Research’s latest “Frontline Perspective” documents Iranian-sourced IED technology that recently appeared on the front line in Yemen. These include EFPs disguised as rocks which are previously documented as a signature of Hezbollah. This new report is just the most recent sign of how the conflict in Yemen has changed from a civil war to a proxy fight between Mideast rivals. The Saudi-led war in Yemen turned three years old this past Sunday and currently over 10,000 people have died. “What we’re hoping this does is make plausible deniability not very plausible,” said Tim Michetti, head of regional operations for Conflict Armament Research. “You can’t really deny this anymore once the components these things are made with are traced to Iranian distributors.”
Titled “Radio-Controlled, Passive Infared-Initiated IEDs,” the report by CAR presents comparative findings on explosively formed projectiles (EFPs), camouflaged to resemble natural rocks, documented in Yemen and similar devices documented by field investigation teams elsewhere in the Middle East.
Download the full CAR report HERE
(Image by Tim Michetti/Conflict Armament Research via AP)
(Image by Tim Michetti/Conflict Armament Research via AP)
(Image by Tim Michetti/Conflict Armament Research via AP)
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-5543161/Bombs-disguised-rocks-Yemen-Iranian-aid.html
http://www.conflictarm.com/publications/
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