Barrel bomb

A barrel bomb is a type of improvised explosive device used by the Syrian Air Force during the Syrian civil war. They are typically made from a barrel that has been filled with TNT, and possibly shrapnel and oil, and then dropped from a helicopter. Due to the large amount of explosives that can be packed into a barrel the resulting detonation can be devastating.

Barrel bombs have pros and cons as a weapon. They are cheaper and easier to produce than conventional weapons. The explosive material can be as simple as fertilizer (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil). The barrel can be any metal container of any size, such as an old water heater. The early versions used lit fuses and thus had to be carefully timed otherwise they would fail to explode before breaking apart on the ground, or explode too soon in the air, however later models had impact fuses.

Barrel bombs were first identified in August 2012, in particular through the video forensic work of Eliot Higgins (Brown Moses). Their existence was initially denied by the Syrian army and the Russians until a video surfaced from inside a moving helicopter showing a barrel bomb being lit and dropped onto a target by Syrian Air Force personnel (source?).

According to the Syrian National Council (SNC), barrel bomb attacks throughout Syria have killed more than 20,000 people since the conflict began in March 2011.

Incendiary device
Some commentators and institutions have labeled barrel bombs as incendiary devices which are banned for use against populated civilian areas under the terms of the UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons. Human Rights Watch has insisted that the employment of these weapons constitutes a war crime. According to Victoria Nuland, of the United States Department of State, barrel bombs are "incendiary bombs which contain flammable material that can be like napalm" or can be packed with nails and launched from the air or from a launcher. Russia has reportedly refused to back a text at the UN Security Council that would have condemned the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out such indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas.

Usage
There have been numerous instances of the use of barrel bombs, including:
 * In August 2012, report of a barrel bomb being dropped on the Hamidiya neighborhood of Homs.
 * In August 2012, report of barrel bombs being dropped on Al-Qusayr.
 * In September 2012, a large number of people were killed and wounded when a barrel bomb was dropped on a residential district in Aleppo.
 * In late August 2013, barrel bombs were dropped on at least two areas of the city, including over a public park in Bab al-Nairab.
 * On 8 October 2013, a barrel bomb was dropped on the village of Bizabur, Idlib, just south of Ariha.
 * On 30 November 2013, a barrel bomb killed at least 26 people in Al Bab, Aleppo.
 * On 1 December 2013, a barrel bomb killed at least 20 people in Al-Bab, Aleppo.
 * From 15-24 December 2013, barrel bombs have killed more than 300 people (and as many as more than 650 people according to the Syrian National Council) in several districts of Aleppo.
 * On 26 December 2013, a barrel bomb killed at least 15 people in Azaz.