Photographs show a sandstorm in Iraq.
We do not yet know the specific origins of these pictures, but the contextual information accompanying them does correspond to a real event, and they match other photos of the same phenomenon: a dust storm which struck Al Asad in the western desert of Iraq on 26 April 2005.According to a Marine Corps News article:A dust storm similar to special effects on the big screen bellowed across the western desert of Iraq on April 26. The storm was spawned near the border of Syria and Jordan. Forward Operating Base Korean Village experienced tornadoes around 2 p.m. The storm moved in a northeasterly direction until it reached Al Asad, around 6:45. As the storm moved closer the sky changed to a shade of orange until total darkness blanketed the ground. The storm passed over in about 45 minutes, leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Forecaster say the wall of dust may have reached 4,000 to 5,000 feet. This dust storm was a spectacular sight and may look worse than it actually was. No one was injured and no equipment was damaged here.Additional photographs of the sandstorm are viewable on the BBC web site.
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