BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (Reuters) – A hand grenade being used instead of a ball in a game of catch exploded early on Saturday killing three youths in this Bosnian town, police and news agencies said.
Two youths aged 19 and 20, one of them from neighboring Croatia, were killed instantly while a 20-year-old woman died on her way to hospital, police said. Her sister was slightly injured but two other youths suffered serious injuries.
One suspects alcohol was involved as the incident took place at 2 am. Even so, these weapons have been laying around since the war there 10-13 years ago. In other words, these “youths” have undoubtedly been familiar with hand grenades since they were 7-8 years old. Even so, they sound like Darwin Award material.
Or is that Intelligent Design Award material now?
wow… that’s dark, man…
and I like it!
Yeah, it’s a real hoot all right. NATO used cluster bombs in Kosovo. I wonder how many of those there are still lying around just under the ground.
It’s a reality that many people in the world face. And it’s mostly due to US foreign policy.
The most egregious example is Laos. US forces bombed Laos on average every 8 minutes for nine straight years. 24-7. Crews returning to air bases in Thailand from their missions in Vietnam routinely dropped their unexploded ordnance randomly over Laos rather than risk landing with it at home.
Since the war ended in 1973, 5700 Laotians have been killed and 5600 have been injured by unexploded ordnance. At least half which were cluster bombs. Young children think they are toys. Older children and adults risk handling them in an attempt to salvage the metal or even to sell as curios to the tourists drinking beer back in the towns.
“Cluster bombs contain dozens, even hundreds, of submunitions the size of tennis balls, soft drink cans or D batteries. The submunitions, or bomblets, are scattered over a wide area and are intended to explode on impact. The problem is a high percentage — experts estimate up to 30% in Laos — of bomblets don’t go off. Hidden under bushes or buried in the ground, they can detonate if someone touches them, or never explode.” (USA Today)
To read more on this hilarious subject see
http://www.magclearsmines.org/
And by the way, we use cluster bombs in Iraq even today. They won’t hurt a tank but boy oh boy will they stop little kids.
These were adults playing catch with a hand grenade at two in the morning. Not exactly innocent victims of American foreign policy, regardless of the other significant issues you raise, SnoLepard.