12:15:47 AM.
The sound of mortar shells piercing the night sky is distinctive.
First comes a sharp "whiz," then the pitch gradually rises, followed by a brief silence, then...
Bang—
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!"
The first salvo from six 2B11 "Sani" 120mm mortars precisely covered the convoy's midsection.
The shells were preset to air-burst mode, exploding five meters above the ground, raining thousands of preformed fragments down like death.
The mercenaries' freshly established defenses crumbled in an instant.
The thick fog was illuminated by the explosions' flames.
A soldier was thrown into the air by the shockwave, a machine gunner had half his skull sheared off by fragments, a medic attempted to crawl toward the wounded but was engulfed by the second wave of shelling.
"Machine gun team, open fire!" Abbas's command was succinct and chilling.
Up high, twenty-eight heavy machine guns roared simultaneously.
