Juba - Insurgent Sniper

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5eleven

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Anyone heard about this alleged insurgent sniper in Iraq? And forgive me, I don't remember which UK paper is known as a rag.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1542824,00.html
The Guardian said:
Elusive sniper saps US morale in Baghdad

Commanders weigh their options as 'Juba' notches up more kills

Rory Carroll in Baghdad
Friday August 5, 2005
The Guardian

They have never seen Juba. They hear him, but by then it's too late: a shot rings out and another US soldier slumps dead or wounded.

There is never a follow-up shot, never a chance for US forces to identify the origin, to make the hunter the hunted. He fires once and vanishes.

Juba is the nickname given by American forces to an insurgent sniper operating in southern Baghdad. They do not know his appearance, nationality or real name, but they know and fear his skill.

"He's good," said Specialist Travis Burress, 22, a sniper with the 1-64 battalion based in Camp Rustamiyah. "Every time we dismount I'm sure everyone has got him in the back of their minds. He's a serious threat to us."

Gun attacks occasionally pepper the battalion's foot and mounted patrols, but the single crack of what is thought to be a Tobuk sniper rifle inspires particular dread.

Since February, the killing of at least two members of the battalion and the wounding of six more have been attributed to Juba. Some think it is also he that has picked off up to a dozen other soldiers.

In a war marked by sectarian bombings and civilian casualties, Juba is unusual in targeting only coalition troops, a difficult quarry protected by armoured vehicles, body armour and helmets.

He waits for soldiers to dismount, or stand up in a Humvee turret, and aims for gaps in their body armour, the lower spine, ribs or above the chest. He has killed from 200 metres away.

"It was the perfect shot," the battalion commander, Lt Col Kevin Farrell, said of one incident. "Blew out the spine.

"We have different techniques to try to lure him out, but he is very well trained and very patient. He doesn't fire a second shot."

Some in the battalion want marksmen to occupy rooftops overlooking supply routes, Juba's hunting ground, to try to put him in the cross-hairs.

"It would be a pretty ****ty assignment because he's good," said Spc Burress. "I think it's a sniper's job to get a sniper, and it'd probably take all of us to get him."

American snipers operate in teams of at least two people, a shooter and a spotter, the latter requiring more experience since he must use complicated formulae to calculate factors such as wind strength and drag coefficients.

Some worry that Juba is on his way to becoming a resistance hero, acclaimed by those Iraqis who distinguish between "good" insurgents, who target only Americans, and "bad" insurgents who harm civilians.

The insurgent grapevine celebrates an incident last June when a four-strong marine scout sniper team was killed in Ramadi, all with shots to the head.

Unlike their opponents, US snipers in Baghdad seldom get to shoot. Typically they hide on rooftops and use thermal imaging and night vision equipment to monitor areas. If there is suspicious activity, they summon aircraft or ground patrols.

"We are professionals. There is a line between a maniac with a gun and a sniper," said Mike, 31, a corporal with a reconnaissance sniper platoon who did not want to his surname to be used.

He spoke during a 24-hour mission on a roof during which his team ate junk food and urinated into a bottle. During daylight they lay on the ground, immobile, to avoid being seen. "It's not a glamorous life," he said.

There was no sign of Juba, who tended to operate further east, but the team spotted mortar flashes and fed the coordinates to base.

Mike said he had shot 14 people in Somalia, three in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. "It's not like you expect it to be, an emotional high. You just think about the wind, the range, then it's over with."

Sniper fire is only of the threats for an American military that has suffered heavy losses this week.

Yesterday another soldier was killed in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, adding to the 21 who died in attacks on Monday and Wednesday.

Roadside bombs account for most of the lives lost, and the size and design of the explosions has led investigators to conclude that the insurgents are learning bombmaking methods from other terrorist organisations.

Yesterday's New York Times reported that the techniques used by Hezbollah in Lebanon were increasingly being seen in roadside bombs in Iraq.

An unnamed senior American commander quoted by the paper said bombs using shaped charges closely matched the bombs that Hezbollah used against Israel.

"Our assessment is that they are probably going off to 'school' to learn how to make bombs that can destroy armoured vehicles," he said.
Anyone that's heard of this have any other good links or stories? Looks like we have a new Vassili Zaitsev? True, or propoganda tool for the insurgency? I heard there are some videos on the web that are purported to be taken from the snipers nest.

EDIT - Well, here's a really good insurgent video sniper compilation - 15 min. Relatively graphic. You've been warned.
http://ia300204.us.archive.org/3/it...per/al-jaishul-islami-baghdad-sniper-24mb.wmv
 
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cracwhore

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Can't you camel-fucking, terrorist sons of bitches learn how to properly encode a fucking video? What does that say about your Jihad - when you can't even make a decent presentation? I just watched 'JUBA' shoot colored blocks for ten minutes, while listening to annoying music. Am I suppose to be impressed? Do you think you're taking this arthouse piece to Sundance?

D- 'JUBA'. You can't even keep the infidel in the frame - noob. Plus, you fired twice. What kind of sniper are you? Fag. See me after class.

'JUBA'? - what a faggot name. He's probably chokin' dicks while facing Makkah al-Mukarramah. Carlos Hathcock and Vasily Zaitev would pwn him and then cremate his remains - and they're dead.
 

5eleven

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Based on the article, and based on the propoganda value that the insurgency would put on the video, I highly doubt that the sniper in the video is "Juba". Might be the same person, but I doubt that it's even the same shooter in all of the segments. In addition, I didn't see too many headshots. Most of them were either arms or legs, or most common - center mass, while the soldier was obviously wearing armor.
 

UN17

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Is that what american soldiers are doing in Iraq? Standing around in the open or sitting on their tanks waiting to be shot, ambushed, bombed, sniped, etc, by any insurgent in the street? I feel sad for those guys, especially the one who got shot while eating his sandwich.

It's one thing to die in war fighting a radical religous army. It's another to get sniped while standing around waiting for the Bush administration to end it's 8 year run.
 

Arethusa

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I find it questionable that there even is a Juba. One sniper? Sounds too much like propaganda, even if it sort of happened(ish) once before. Not impossible; just setting my bullshit alarms off.
 

5eleven

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I dunno. Seems from the article that "Juba" operates in a specific area - so I suppose it's plausible. I ran across some wacked out "death to zion" site that claimed that "Juba" is an Israeli sniper because he has a camera attached to the rifle, and apparently only the Israelis do that. :rolleyes:
 
cracwhore said:
Can't you camel-fucking, terrorist sons of bitches learn how to properly encode a fucking video? What does that say about your Jihad - when you can't even make a decent presentation? I just watched 'JUBA' shoot colored blocks for ten minutes, while listening to annoying music. Am I suppose to be impressed? Do you think you're taking this arthouse piece to Sundance?

D- 'JUBA'. You can't even keep the infidel in the frame - noob. Plus, you fired twice. What kind of sniper are you? Fag. See me after class.

'JUBA'? - what a faggot name. He's probably chokin' dicks while facing Makkah al-Mukarramah. Carlos Hathcock and Vasily Zaitev would pwn him and then cremate his remains - and they're dead.

Calm down, champ.
 

cracwhore

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The corrent term is 'xenophobia' - or, in a more modern sense - 'patriotism'.

And yes, I agree. It's quite hilarious.
 

TheShiningWizard

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Cap'n Beeb said:
Racism sure is a laugh riot.
You've laughed at all kinds of improper crap in IRC and on the boards, Beeb. Don't be a sanctimonious son of a bitch :p
 

5eleven

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Hate to steer this back on topic, but I'm interested in anyone's thoughts regarding the story/existence of "Juba". :)
 

MP_Lord_Kee

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I haven't read up on the subject but I wouldn't be surprised if "Juba" existed for real. It is not unheard of that in war there are snipers that rise above the rest. Google for Simo Häyhä and "White Death" for example :)

Don't know about that video though, could be "Juba" atleast on some shots I guess...

//K

Off-topic but interesting for some I guess:
http://www.snipercountry.com/BVT_Reviews/RiflesWhiteDeath.asp
 
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Rostam

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I'm glad that their propaganda disgusts me just as much as ours. More specific on the video, the low quality is an act of brilliance. If they did it in purpose, then they are a lot better at propaganda than I thought. All you see the entire video long are uniforms, and Bush his face. You see a guy getting killed while eating but that's pretty much the only time you see something more than just a uniform.

By the way, those guys in tanks that he gets a shot at, are those officers? It seems somewhat terrifying that somebody with his skill would shoot so many grunts.

On the question if there is one juba or not, well there isn't enough info, really. But any answer would be scary, one skilled sniper capable of this or a dozen, it doesn't seem to matter.

By the way, the different quality that was to be seen in the video does seem to suggest several snipers.
 

Harrm

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Oct 21, 2001
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'Juba' is probably not one guy, but maybe a set of men all trained to use this tactic for the sake of propaganda. Plus, I doubt he is specifically pakistani. Anyone can learn to do anything given some time, and training camps were set up for a looong time before we ever intervened.

Is that what american soldiers are doing in Iraq? Standing around in the open or sitting on their tanks waiting to be shot, ambushed, bombed, sniped, etc, by any insurgent in the street? I feel sad for those guys, especially the one who got shot while eating his sandwich.

Yes, most of our men are in the open, because the current tactic is to show that we are there in force and have our men stand where they can be seen. I disagree with this strategy immensely, but hey, that's the way the dice have rolled.

If it were up to me, the next place in which Juba strikes again would be nuked, no questions asked. Maybe that would give an incentive for the Iraqi people to do some backing up.

--Harrm
 
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chuckus

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Yeh the tactic is called presence of force. If six guys who would normally think of starting **** see a tank and six other guys with automatic weapons, they might not feel like starting some **** anymore..... That's the idea anyway.

edit: just watched the video. What a crappy way to start off the day.
 
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5eleven

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I don't think so, regarding American "tactics". Checkpoints must be manned, and can't be manned from the safety of an armored vehicle. In addition, I think the tactic that is trying to be employed IS visibility. It is putting troops out on patrols in the neighborhoods, along the lines of "community policing". It's unfortunate that it creates a target for the small number of insurgents, but it's part of a bigger "hearts and minds" campaign, IMO.

However, what's funny that I haven't heard, is a loud cry complaining that the insurgents are putting so many civilians at risk. How many times did you see a shot fired in the presence of pedestrian traffic, across vehicular traffic, or while children walked along or in front of the "target". It just smells to me of the same double standard. Contractors are putting civilians at risk by shooting rapidly approaching vehicles on Route Irish, but snipers firing through pedestrian and vehicular traffic aren't. You'll also notice that the troops, when trying to determine the origin of the fire, are using pretty damned good fire discipline.