Iraqi forces to tackle twisted ISIS jihadis with shuttlecock guided grenades
IRAQI forces are taking the fight to Islamic State by bombing jihadis with shuttlecock guided grenades.
Iraqi forces are taking the fight to ISIS
Feathered tails from the projectile used in the sport of badminton have been fitted to explosive devices to ensure greater accuracy when fired from drones.
The tactic marks a turnaround in the ongoing battle in war torn Mosul as drone drops were a method used by insurgents to bomb coalition forces and civilians.
Improvised bombs proved so effective the idea was stolen and is now being used to give the enemy a taste of their own medicine.
The shuttlecocks have been fitted to ensure greater accuracy
West Mosul is very populated
The weapons are oblong devices tipped by small, rounded grenades with a pin near one end and a netted skirt taken from a shuttlecock on the other.
Live footage from the drones can be beamed back to commanding officers for them to pinpoint their targets.
Colonel Hussein Muayad, whose federal police forces are using the weapon in the fight to recapture parts of the besieged city, said: "West Mosul is very populated.
Drone drops were used to bomb coalition forces
"The roads are very narrow. The point with these drones is to have very precise strikes to target the terrorists, not the residents.
"Residents would stare at the sky during the Mosul fighting, fearing IS drones. Now it's the enemy whose eyes never leave the sky.
The drones have a range of five miles
'They used to hit us once. But we can hit them up to four times with a single drone."
The drones have a range of five miles each which each carrying up to four grenades.