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Ababil 
UNSCOM Photo 


Nose aspect of an Ababil-100/Al-Samoud airframe mock-up.  Under the Security Council resolutions, Iraq is allowed to have missiles with a range of less than 150 kilometers; accordingly, the Iraqis have been working for the past six years to design such a missile. The initial name for this missile was "Ababil-100" (not to be confused with Iraq's pre-war Ababil program); more recently, the name has been changed to "Al-Samoud."  The propulsion system is based on a reverse-engineered version of the SA-2 surface-to-air missile engine.  This photo is most likely a mock-up of the Al-Samoud, located at a small assembly hall in the Karama State Establishment.  Note that the graphite nose cone is not yet in place. 


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