Iraqi insurgents use mannequins, pigeons to kill

[Barrett808]

RAMADI, Iraq (AP) -- On an eerie, battle-scarred street in this blown-out urban war zone, a mannequin with painted black hair stares silently at U.S. Marines hunkered down in sandbagged observation posts atop buildings a few blocks away.

It's the latest insurgent ruse in an evolving war pitting the world's most powerful military against guerrilla fighters using their most effective weapon: ingenuity.

Insurgents in Ramadi recently have flown kites over U.S. troops to align mortar-fire, released pigeons to give away U.S. troop movements and staged attacks at fake funeral processions complete with rocket-stuffed coffins, U.S. forces deployed here say.

"They're crafty, I'll give 'em that," said Marine Cpl. John Strobridge, 20, of Orlando, Florida, as his Humvee passed the mannequin along one of the most bomb-infested roads in town, a street Americans call Route Michigan.

...

"We kind of laugh at it. We don't know why they do it," Strobridge said. "But I think the idea is, we get used to looking at the mannequin, and then one day there's a real person standing there" -- with an AK-47 or a rocket launcher.

(more)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/09/iraq.guerrilla.ap/index.html

[NorCalDem]

1. Its amazing the nasty little tricks you can pull

when you're fighting in your own backyard.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HuffleClaw]

3. pigeons of TERROR ! ! !

and killer manniquins!

great stuff.

[Lilith Velkor]

4. You can learn a lot from a dummy

:yoiks:

[Roland99]

5. Goes inline with Saddam's Camels of Mass Destruction