Suspicious metal object found in U.N. investigation of Syria gas attack

Does anyone know what this metal object might be?

Metal object image 1

Metal object image 2

This is in the Reuters slideshow of images from the U.N. investigation. There are two separate images of this object, which makes me think that it was suspicious and was of importance in the investigation. Is it possible that this is some important evidence or a clue as to the nature of the gas attack, and how it was deployed?

I'm not an expert on such matters so am interested if anyone knows what this might be and what it might mean.

The full slideshow of images from the investigation can be found at Full slideshow

reply to post by PhysicsAlive


Looks like a spent shell casing from an artillery round. I'm no expert either though.

ETA: on closer inspection, it does sort of resemble a shell casing, but almost looks home made?

reply to post by PhysicsAlive


Looks like some kind of missile canister, used to hold and deliver an agent on board a missile.

Could be wrong but looks possibly homemade.

Like the ones fired regularly into Israel.

looks like a big gate ,sometimes used for getting the hell out

Agree with the poster above either a arty shell
However it looks more like a 107 ( or similar/variant )rocket with the fuse/det removed from the tip

www.inertproducts.com...
Link to a replica 107 showing it stripped into component parts

If it was an arty shell the tip is the projectile - the case ( as seen in the photo you linked ) would just be the propellant - think a very big bullet !
Thus not very interesting and easily identified

It was obviously interesting as photos were taken and a measuring rule was used for scale in the photo

ETN there are many variants of 107's produced by many nations .......all with their own little differences
Although I compare this to a 107 it may well not be but a rocket of similar design

reply to post by Neocrusader


So, could this type of rocket have been used to deliver a small chemical gas warhead?

reply to post by PhysicsAlive


YES

the part seen in the pic is purely propellant and the initiator
The bit that would fit on the end ( warhead ) could really be fitted with any payload you desire ( as long as the warhead caseing could survive launch ( eg a homemade soft plastic container, containing agent would possibly rupture under the stress of launch - so something reasonably strong would be required

There were reports of AQ using 107's to deliver chlorine warheads in afghan, never saw them myself

ETA
just went looking for an improvised chem 107 but stumbled across this

brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk...

Some good info
Looks like its a 140 rocket

I am thinking maybe it's an asbestos liner for some kind of chemical weapon.
asbestos was originally used in WWII gas masks as an effective filter against the chemical weapons of the time.
Asbestos Gas Mask Filter

Maybe asbestos has a modern application for such weapons as a precaution against leakage if the agent's containment happens to be compromised during transport.

Gee, looks like a gas canister for a soda vending machine, maybe a water filter?,maybe some other inane item that just ends up lying around in the streets when things get chaotic for whatever reason. Gas canisters in artillery rounds look just like regular artillery rounds, the profile has to remain aerodynamic in order for the round to follow a predictable trajectory, and they disintegrate or look like an illumination canister, which looks just like a regular artillery round.

If a gas round was shaped like that, they would defeat the purpose of using gas because they would have to be super close to the target....

Why do people put these pictures on here and ask what they are, like blurry, shaky lights in the sky taken with a cell phone?.

Okay Okay, maybe it is a rocket motor, but that doesn't make it a gas round either.

Does anyone besides me find it a bit odd that this object is just conveniently found laying around here?

I realize that in attacks and war etc., shells would be laying all around, but when the blame game is being played and fingers are pointing every which way, not to mention the time it has taken them to get there and actually find it, when the same amount of time would have been more then enough to cover ones tracks.... well, I dont know, just struck my something smells senses wrong for some reason.

Looks like a motor casing. most of the time the motor casing is badly damaged by the warhead going off.
But in the case of a chemical warhead there is only a small burster charge that just opens the chemical warhead and does little damage to the motor casing.

The one in the photos looks like a 107 mm rocket motor (haseb) made in iran for Hizbullah.