Iraqi Insurgents Once Used Donkeys to Launch Rockets

On November 21, 2003, something bizarre happened in downtown Baghdad. Insurgents launched rocket attacks on heavily guarded hotels and the Iraqi Oil Ministry—using donkeys. Not as collateral damage, but as the actual delivery system. Four donkey-drawn carts disguised as hay wagons hauled homemade multiple rocket launchers right past security checkpoints to some of the most defended sites in the city.

The setup was ingeniously simple: donkeys were tethered to trees, with rockets inserted inside homemade launchers, linked to car batteries and time fuses, all hidden under hay. The low-tech approach had a high-impact element of surprise. As Col. Brad May noted at the time, a donkey cart could get closer to targets than more obvious threats. Who suspects a hay wagon?

The Pentagon's Response: From "Insignificant" to Training Manual

Initially, U.S. military officials dismissed the attacks as "militarily insignificant." Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt acknowledged the tactic packed a certain psychological punch, but emphasized the limited physical damage. The attacks injured one person and caused minor property damage—not exactly a strategic victory.

But here's where it gets interesting: what started as "militarily insignificant" ended up in official U.S. Army training manuals. The donkey-borne rocket launcher became a case study in asymmetric warfare—proof that insurgents would continuously adapt to stay one step ahead of conventional military forces.

The Donkeys Survived (and May Have Saved Lives)

In an ironic twist, all the donkeys survived the attacks. Even better, the animals apparently disrupted the launching mechanisms, limiting the severity of the strikes. Imagine being a U.S. soldier and learning that a donkey's stubbornness might have saved your life by throwing off a rocket's trajectory.

The tactic wasn't entirely new—militants had first experimented with donkey-borne rocket launchers in September 2003. Beyond rockets, Iraqi insurgents used animal carcasses to conceal IEDs, hid explosives in garbage piles, and disguised bombs as rocks. The donkey cart attacks represented just one innovation in a broader pattern of low-tech, high-creativity guerrilla tactics.

Why It Mattered

This wasn't about military effectiveness in the traditional sense. It was about:

• Psychological impact: Demonstrating that no location was truly secure
• Propaganda value: Showing defiance during a major U.S. military crackdown
• Tactical creativity: Exploiting the fact that conventional security measures don't account for livestock

The Iraq War saw countless IED innovations, but the donkey rocket launcher stands out for its sheer audacity. It's a reminder that in asymmetric warfare, the side with fewer resources often compensates with more imagination. And sometimes, that imagination involves a donkey, some hay, and a car battery.