Al Qa Qaa
Imagery of storage bunkers at Al Qa Qaa
According to the IAEA Action Report on the facility, the HMX was being stored in only nine bunkers at the site. All of the HMX bunkers were sealed by the IAEA after verification, using metal seals on the front entrance doors.
DoD released on Oct. 28, 2004, imagery showing two trucks parked outside one of the 56 bunkers of the Al Qa Qaa Explosive Storage Complex approximately 20 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, on March 17, 2003. According to the release: "It is not believed that all 56 bunkers contained High Melting Explosive also known as HMX. A large, tractor-trailer (yellow arrow) is loaded with white containers with a smaller truck parked behind it. The International Atomic Energy Association inspectors identified bunkers in this complex as containing High Melting Explosive."
The Digital Globe Images from November 11, 2003 show that over 20 bunkers were destroyed. Additionally, the Digital Globe image from November 11, 2002, indicates that one bunker, within Bunker Group 1, was destroyed prior to US intervention in March 2003.
However, a comparison of features in the DoD-released imagery with available commercial satellite imagery, combined with the use of an IAEA map showing the location of bunkers used to store the HMX explosives, reveals that the trucks pictured on the DoD image are not at any of the nine bunkers indentified by the IAEA as containing the missing explosive stockpiles.
| Al Qa Qaa, Iraq |
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| Click on the small image to view a larger version | ||
| Storage Area | ||
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IAEA map of the bunkers at al Qa Qaa |
Location of bunkers containing HMX stockpiles and of bunkers used in DoD imagery |
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Overview of Storage Area (w/ IAEA Bunker Group IDs) Space Imaging Eurasia 2 Oct 01 |
Imagery showing locations of the HMX-stockpiled bunkers and those in the DoD imagery. The trucks are not at the bunkers containing HMX | |
DoD-released imagery taken on March 17, 2003, showing two trucks parked outside one of the 56 bunkers of the Al Qa Qaa Explosive Storage Complex |
Bunker Group 2 (DOD AOI) Space Imaging Eurasia 2 Oct 01 | |
 [1,000 kb full res image] |
 DoD-released imagery taken on March 17, 2003, showing two trucks parked outside one of the 56 bunkers of the Al Qa Qaa Explosive Storage Complex | |
| Click Here for Storage Area Close-ups | ||
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