mortar attack
Indirect fire strike
A mortar attack is an assault using mortars—portable artillery that lobs explosive shells in high arcs onto targets.
The term appears frequently in military and news contexts describing combat zones: The base came under mortar attack at dawn.
Unlike direct-fire weapons, mortars can strike positions behind walls or in trenches, making mortar attacks effective against fortified positions.
- shellingSustained artillery attack
- bombardmentSustained projectile assault
- indirect fireWeapons aimed at unseen targets
- explosionViolent burst of energy
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
blast · blast radius · rocket · rocket propelled grenade · grenade · incoming · bunker · trench · shrapnel · crater · kill zone · rubble · siren · insurgent · rounds · impact · debris · smoke
- war violencemassacre, bombardment, bombing, shelling, combat
- attacksassault, raid, strike, offensive, charge
- warfarebattle, combat, war, armed conflict, military strategy
- combatbattle, fight, combat, unarmed combat, grappling
- bombingscar bombing, suicide bombing, truck bomb, car bomb, pipe bomb
mortar attackdirect fire
Shooting at seen targets
rifle fire · close-quarters combat · hand-to-hand combat · sniper fire · bayonet charge
mortar attackceasefire
Agreed halt to fighting
truce · armistice · peace agreement · peacekeeping · humanitarian aid
mortar attacktaking cover
Seeking protective concealment
air defense · bomb shelter · evacuation · entrenchment · retreat
mortar, attack, mortars, mortared, mortaring, attacks, attacked, attacking, attacker