An attempt to damage the Mosul Dam was apparently made on Monday.

BAGHDAD -- A truck bomb parked on a bridge connecting two gates of the Mosul dam exploded Monday, killing a security officer, officials said.

The attack on the dam was the latest reminder of militants' intent to undermine major infrastructure projects in Iraq, and highlighted continued instability in the northern province of Nineveh. American military officials acknowledge that insurgents have sought shelter in the north after being driven out of Baghdad and other provinces by major summer military offensives. The bombed bridge connects the right and left shores of the Mosul dam. It has been used by vehicles for the last three decades.

The dam, which is more than 25 years old, was formerly known as the “Saddam Dam.” For obvious reasons the name was changed in 2003. At the time of the American conquest of Iraq, a survey by the US Army Corps of Engineers noted that the dam, which was built on several layers of shale and sand, was suffering from weakness and in danger of collapse, threatening all those living down stream from a wall of water described as being “110 meters high.”

Reconstruction work on the Mosul dam, which was built in the 1980s, has been one of the major projects undertaken with the nearly $20 billion that the U.S. Congress approved for Iraqi reconstruction in 2003. The money was a one-time allotment and only about $2 billion is left, making extra costs caused by security breaches especially troublesome, said a U.S. official involved in Iraqi reconstruction work.

Repairs are needed on the dam to keep water at a safe level behind the reservoir, the official said. U.S. engineers have expressed concern about the dam bursting, causing massive flooding as far away as Baghdad, about 225 miles south.

I discussed this danger in late August, citing an earlier VOI report.

A McGraw-Hill Construction report of an inspection done shortly after the conquest by COL. Gregg Martin, commander of the 130th Engineer Battalion, indicates that the dam was functioning well, and the Iraqi engineer on duty, Jassam Hammad Saleh Mahmoud, said that leaks in the dam were being controlled by a system devised by a German-Italian engineering team that injected a grout mixture of bentonite, cement, water and air. The grouting process consumed approximately 50 metric tons of grout per day.

In late 2005 the Corps of Engineers reported that the repairs were under way, and should be completed sometime in 2006.

The driver of the truck stopped the vehicle, pretending it had broken down. Suspicious security personnel decided to confront the driver and he walked away from the truck. After the truck exploded he was captured by other guards.

A truck bomb on top of the roadway is not the best way to destroy a dam.

The War of the Bridges series

The Bridges of Iraq

The War of the Bridges

Another Bridge Attack

Baghdad Bridges Falling Down

The Daily Bridge Attack

Balad Bridge

Pitrokimiwiat Bridge

Thiraa Dilja Bridge

Two Bridges in Anbar

The Bridge War Goes On

Windiyah Bridge Destroyed

Mosul Dam Bomb Attempt