So the Syrian government, has been unable to break the back of a populist uprising using snipers, RPGs, tanks and aircraft has turned to lobbing massive 240 mm mortars into the city of Homs, killing dozens. This sounds like an old fashioned leave no one alive siege. In case there were any doubts, this shows that the Syrian dictatorship of Bashar al Assad is at war with his own people.
Syrian troops are firing Soviet-made M240 breech loading mortars into the city. These fire the largest mortar rounds in the world, according to the Christian Science Monitor. To put things in perspective, the 240 mm mortar rounds are roughly five-feet long. The Soviets used them in Afghanistan and the Russian army used the weapons to bombard the city of Grozny during its wars in Chechnya. So while they were designed to hit enemy bunkers from long ranges, they've also been used to bludgeon civilian population centers.
The mortars can either be towed or carried aboard the purpose made tracked vehicle called the Tulip. Nice huh?
Click through the jump to see a video of the Tulip in action.
