[Emirates 24/7] [Emirates 24/7] French jet are dropping inert bombs packed with concrete instead of explosives to destroy Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy's tanks without killing civilians, the military said Thursday.
Military front man Thierry Burkhard denied rumours the use of the 300-kilo (660-pound) training devices was prompted by a shortage of real bombs. He said the first such strike crushed an armoured vehicle on Tuesday.
"The aim of this munition ... is to use the effect of the impact while limiting the risk of collateral damage," Burkhard told news hounds. "It is a very precise strike. There is no, or very little, shrapnel thrown out."
The military said French warplanes have made 216 sorties in Libya over the past week and destroyed targets including 15 armoured vehicles and big guns as well as a munitions depot.
Burkhard said French forces were also continuing to use real bombs against other Qadaffy targets in the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
-led assault, which aims to frustrate Qadaffy's forces and protect civilians in his assault on rebels. |