Iraq’s Chemical Warfare Program - Annex H

Exploitation of Captured Enemy Ammunition Supply Points

As of 27 July 2004, 9,758 Iraqi munitions caches had been found and scheduled for destruction. Coalition forces are almost finished with the process of consolidating the known caches into one of seven Captured Enemy Ammunition (CEA) Depots. In order to examine the maximum amount of munitions possible, ISG teams visited these CEA depots to exploit a broad spectrum of Iraqi munitions, possibly including WMD-capable projectiles, rocket, missiles, or bombs. In addition to the assessment and exploitation of munitions, the teams also provided the on site contractors with handouts explaining which munitions are of interest to ISG and how to contact ISG should any suspected munitions be found. The seven CEA depots are listed in Table 1.

A variety of munitions were exploited by ISG teams. Highlights include the Al Fat’h missile and the 81mm aluminum rockets, which figured prominently in the “aluminum tubes issue,” as well as many other types of munitions including cluster bombs, rockets, and artillery projectiles (see Figures 1 and 2).

An Najaf CEA Depot
An Najaf is located in central Iraq (approximately 120 km south of Baghdad). The An Najaf Depot contains 87 intact earth-covered bunkers; 42 destroyed warehouses, and approximately 99 revetments. An Najaf Depot covers an area of 5 km by 6 km and is secured by a 7ft barbed wire fence. The bunkers, located at the northen end of the depot, are in four major groups, each group consisting of five pentagon shaped sub-groups containing five bunkers each. The warehouses are located to the south in rows of seven warehouses by six rows for a total of 42 warehouses. All of the warehouses were destroyed by unknown explosions.

An Najif ACP is currently under the operational control of Foster Wheeler Tetra Tech.

• An item of interest found at this site was determined to be an Iraqi copy of the Spanish Fuel Air Bomb, and Surface-to-Air missiles. Bunkers, destroyed warehouses, and the revetments were exploited with no WMD weapons found (see Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6).
  

Arlington CEA Depot
Arlington CEA Depot is located north of Tikrit and about 200 km north of Baghdad and receives ammunition from the northern sector of Iraq. The Arlington Depot contains 100 intact earth covered bunkers, 79 intact and two destroyed warehouses, roughly 1,000 revetments, approximately 100 mud huts, and open storage. Arlington comprises an area roughly 2 km by 8 km surrounded by a 6-foot fence and guard towers. Arlington CEA Depot is currently under the operational control of US Environmental, Inc.

• The bunkers are located at the north end of the depot, the warehouses are to the south. Revetments are scattered though out the depot. Two of the warehouses were destroyed by unknown explosions presumably prior to OIF.
  
• All bunkers and revetments were neat, orderly, and easily exploited. Multiple types of munitions were found including airdrop bombs, cluster bombs, rockets, surface-to-surface missiles, and air-to-air missiles. Large quantities of ammunition were found including many types of rockets, RPGs, artillery projectiles of various caliber, and small arms. The majority of the munitions in the bunkers are stored in their original shipping containers. The warehouses contained large quantities of artillery projectiles, tank munitions, and limited quantities of antitank and antipersonnel mines. The revetments housed primarily 57mm munitions. All of the bunkers and warehouses were exploited.
  
• The 142-inch long, 122mm crates are indicative of the Sakr-18 rocket. The team counted 120 long crates and inspected 29 of them. The other 92 crates were not checked due to safety concerns. That is, the 142-inch long crates were at the rear of a full bunker, with a 1-foot wide center walk space between munitions stacked 6 to 7 foot high. A random sample of the long crates was conducted by going four crates deep near the center of the 120 crates, stacked 9 crates high. After sampling the crates, the pile started to shift. With no room to escape if the crate piles collapsed, the team broke off the exploitation.
  
• No WMD Munitions were found, (see Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12).
  

Az Zubayr CEA Depot
The Az Zubayr CEA Depot (alternate spelling Ash Shuaybah) vicinity south of Basra. Az Zubayr contains 31 intact and 17 destroyed earth-covered bunkers, 29 open storage pads, and an open receiving area for captured enemy ammunition being received at this location. Ammunition is shipped from southern Iraqi cache sites. Az Zubayr encompasses an area roughly 2 km by 3 1/4 km surrounded by a 6ft fence and guard towers. Az Zubayr Depot is currently under the operational control of Foster Wheeler Tetra Tech.

• The 17 destroyed bunkers were completely leveled, with little of the foundations remaining. The west building is called the missile building and is largely intact, with unexploded ordnance buried under the floor. Large multi-roomed buildings were located near the bunkers to the east. Onsite contractors stated this area was originally the Naval Munitions School for the Iraqi navy. The longest bunker is 330 ft long, with both the entrance and the road network constructed below grade.
  
• Multiple types of munitions were found, including airdrop bombs, naval mines, torpedoes, and missiles. The destroyed bunkers were exploited, yielding evidence of two Silkworm missiles (both were tagged by a UN inspection team, however the label number was unreadable. One of the open revetments contained over a 100 special 81mm green aluminum rockets. Presumably, these are missiles associated with so-called “aluminum tubes issue” (see the Nuclear Section of this report for more information).
  
• No WMD munitions were found (see Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16).

Buckmaster CEA Depot
Buckmaster CEA Depot is located in central Iraq 149 Km north of Baghdad. This depot is an extension of the Taji Depot and ammunition is shipped here from caches in central Iraq. Buckmaster comprises an area of nearly 5.5 km by 3 km surrounded by a 6-foot fence and guard towers. The bunkers are primarily located on the east side of the depot. Revetments and open storage are scattered throughout the depot, primarily from the center to the east edge boundary fence.

• Buckmaster Depot contains 100 earth-covered bunkers, 96 of which are intact. Four bunkers were destroyed by US ground forces during OIF. Hundreds of revetments, in addition to mud huts and open storage areas, are scattered randomly throughout the depot. Larger missiles, including 32 FROGs, are stored in the open, along with French Exocets and surface-to-air missiles.
  
• All bunkers were orderly and easily exploited, as were the revetments. This is in contrast to the other CEA Depots exploited. Multiple types of munitions were exploited, including air drop bombs, cluster bombs, Al Qa’ Qa’a 500 bombs, Al Fat’h missiles, tank munitions, rockets, surface-to-surface missiles, air-to-air missiles, RPGs, artillery projectiles of various caliber, and small arms. The majority of the munitions in the bunkers were stored in their original shipping containers.
  
• Munitions of interest were Iraqi Fuel Air Bombs and numerous Al Qa’ Qa’a 500 bombs along with several Al Fat’h Missiles.
  
• No WMD munitions were found (see Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20).
  

Jaguar CEA Depot
Jaguar CEA Depot is located 300km NNW of Baghdad and 80km SSW of Mosul. The Jaguar North Depot contains 80 intact and 20 destroyed earth-covered bunkers, several revetments, and large quantities of open storage for munitions being received from northern Iraqi cache sites. Jaguar North comprises an area roughly 2.5 km by 5.5 km surrounded by a 6-foot fence and guard towers. Jaguar Depot is currently under the control of US Environmental, Inc. To the southwest roughly 5 km are two areas called Jaguar South and Jaguar Middle with a total of over 1,400 earthen revetments and 40 destroyed warehouses comprising an area of roughly 5 km by 6 km, surrounded by an earthen berm and concertina wire. More wire was in the process of being installed at Jaguar South. The warehouses at Jaguar South are severely damaged due to explosions from either Desert Storm or OIF.

• Multiple types of munitions were exploited by the team, including air drop bombs, cluster bombs, rockets, and air-to-air missiles. Large quantities of diverse munitions types were identified, including rockets, RPGs, artillery projectiles of various caliber, and small arms. The majority of the munitions in the bunkers were not stored in their original shipping containers. Most of the bunkers were unorganized, with propellant, powder bags, fuses, and projectiles being intermixed with broken white plastic shipping containers and discarded wooden shipping crates piled on the floor. In contrast, some bunkers were well-organized, with munitions neatly stacked. All bunkers contained a large mix of conventional munitions that appeared to have been stored for an extended time, due to the amount of dust accumulated on the crates and munitions.
• At Jaguar South and Jaguar Middle the warehouses were all destroyed, causing Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs) to be scattered around the area by the explosions. Several of the warehouses had indications that looters burned material around the base of 155mm artillery projectiles in order to remove the brass rotating band. Presumably several of the explosions resulted from the looters’ activities. Artillery projectiles with red and blue bands were found in an open area between revetments in the northwest corner of the ASP. Munitions were also found in a water-filled wadi on the north side of Jaguar South, outside the perimeter.
• Munitions of interest were 122mm rockets, CG-250 Cluster Bombs, and Spanish BRI-400 Bombs.
• No WMD munitions were found (see Figures 21, 22, 23, and 24).
  

Paladin CEA Depot
Paladin CEA Depot is located 60km west of Baghdad. Munitions are shipped from central Iraqi cache sites. The Paladin Depot contains 51 intact earth covered bunkers, seven bunkers being described as large, two destroyed bunkers, hundreds of revetments, and open storage for captured enemy munitions received at this location. Paladin comprises an area roughly 4 km by 4 km surrounded by a 6ft fence and guard towers. The bunkers are located at the north corner, with the revetments scattered throughout the depot. Paladin Depot is currently under the operational control of EODT.

• The smaller bunkers were disorganized and the munitions were covered with dust and sand. Several types of munitions were exploited, including air drop bombs, cluster bombs, rockets, and surface-to-surface, surface-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-air missiles. Large quantities of artillery projectiles were found, of many types and various calibers: 20mm, 23mm, 30mm, 57mm, and 76mm projectiles were dispersed throughout the bunkers. One item of interest was a previously unseen 120mm smoke mortar projectile, later identified after searching DOD publications.
  
• The large bunkers were protected by a berm approximately 40 to 50 feet high. The front entrances had a drive through, and the bunkers featured an internal crane. An air handling system was incorporated into the side of the bunkers, suggesting that they once weapons that contain sensitive electronics and guidance systems. No indications were seen to indicate an air filtration system. These bunkers also had a central power junction shed (approximately 10-feet long, 6-feet wide, and 8-feet high). Some of the large bunkers held 122mm rockets, while others were empty.
• SA-2 missile containers were opened and the UN tag data was recorded for all SA-2s on site, with the exception of four that were physically inaccessible. The majority of these missiles were stored in their original shipping containers. One SA-2 was damaged and appeared to have been ejected from an exploded bunker.
• No al Samud or Al Fat’h missiles were identified, and no WMD munitions were found (see Figures 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30).
  

Taji CEA Depot
Taji CEA Depot is located north of Baghdad and currently no longer accepts incoming munitions as a CEA Depot. This depot contains earth-berm warehouses, roughly 100 of which are intact and roughly 20 damaged or destroyed. Munitions were shipped to this depot from caches within the Baghdad area of Iraq. Taji Depot comprises an area of approximately 5 km by 3 km surrounded by a 6-foot fence topped with several strands of barbed wire and guard towers. Some of the perimeter around the bomb and missile yard also has a 6- to 8-foot high berm, 10 to 20 meters from the fence line. The warehouses comprise most of the area of the depot, with the bomb and missile yard in the southeast corner. Taji Depot is currently under the operational control of EODT.

• Numerous revetments are located throughout the depot, most of which were filled with small arms munitions up to 57mm Anti-Aircraft Artillery. The open storage area south of the warehouses is referred to as the bomb and missile yard.
  
• Air deliverable bombs up to 500 kg, larger missiles up to and including FROGs, and surface-to-air missiles are stored in the open.
• The team exploited all missiles, rockets, and bombs in the open storage area and revetments within the bomb and missile yard. Surface-to-air missiles, rockets, and FROG missiles were neatly stacked. Multiple types of munitions were checked including airdrop bombs, cluster bombs, rockets, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and air-to-air missiles. The majority of SA-6 surface-to-air missiles were stored in their original shipping containers. The FROG missiles were stored in the open. A team also inspected eight Al Qa’ Qa’a 250 bombs with the twisting weld—none of the Al Qa’ Qa’a bombs were found with fill plugs.
• Taji will eventually contain only small arms ammunition (82mm and less).
• Munitions of interest were FROG missiles, 262mm rockets, Iraqi Fuel Air Bombs, cluster bombs, and Qa’ Qa’a 250 Incendiary Bombs.
• No WMD munitions were found (see Figures 31, 32, 33, and 34).