Over the past couple days some dramatic footage of ISIS forces firing an ATGM at an Iraqi Army M1 Abrams tank near Mosul has been circulating the internet. The footage appears to show the missile striking the rear of the turret, setting off a catastrophic explosion. Little other information is available at this point concerning the incident.
Mosul: Iraq tanks crush suicide cars on bloody road
October 24, 2016 by 4 Comments
An interesting article appeared yesterday in The Australian on the recent fighting in Mosul. Titled “Iraq tanks crush suicide cars on bloody road”, the article tells the story of an Iraqi M1 Abrams tank battling Isis suicide bomb trucks. The one odd part of the story is the bit about the gun “jamming.” Any comment regarding this from current or former Abrams crew would be much appreciated. The full article can be read here.
Article excerpt:
The Isis suicide bomber raced down a potholed road at the wheel of a home-made armoured car with bolted-on sheets of metal. Manoeuvring the main gun on a US-made M1 Abrams tank, Captain Mustafa Khaleel, a commander in the Iraqi army’s 9th Armoured Division, watched calmly as the vehicle flew towards him at full speed. Exhaling slowly, he aimed at his target and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. The gun had jammed. Stiff with panic, Khaleel, 29, watched as the car carried on towards him. The impact, when it came, threw him against the tank’s white-painted metal interior — the explosion so loud it deafened him.
After coming to, Khaleel looked through the sights again. The car was gone, crushed beneath the tracks of the tank, which itself was barely damaged. Climbing out of the hatch he saw burnt pieces of the Isis fighter’s body scattered around him on the road.
“We were scared for a second,” he grinned, leaning back in the commander’s seat. “But I’ve destroyed 200 of these suicide cars. They can’t touch us. In Mosul I’ll make it 300.”
The pride of the Iraqi army, the 9th Armoured Division, has played a vital role in the liberation of the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Falluja from Isis since early last year, smashing through the waves of suicide vehicles that protect the Islamists’ front lines.
Media praise for “Beast of Hit”
April 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Several articles have appeared in the US media praising a U.S.-trained Iraqi crew working with a U.S.supplied M1A1 Abrams tank now known as the “Beast.” This particular tank played a major role in taking and clearing the town of Hit in western Anbar province of ISIS fighters and was singled out for praise by US military spokesman Col. Steve Warren. According to Warren, “The “Beast” was one of three Iraqi Abrams tanks backing Iraqi forces as they entered Hit but the two other tanks broke down. The Beast’s crew have been awarded the “Hero of the Day” award several days running, which is apparently something being given by the US to Iraqi troops fighting in Hit.
For more on this story click on this article from Military.com.
Video of the Day: GoPro Mounted On Iraqi Abrams Tank
March 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This video showed up on Youtube two days ago. The description states that “with a GoPro mounted on an Abrams, Iraqi military and paramilitary units teamed up to clear the Alsjarih neighborhood of Ramadi.”
Video: Iraqi Abrams destroyed by ATGM
October 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Here is a rather startling video from Live Leak showing an Iraqi Abrams tank being hit by a Kornet anti-tank guided missile. It appears that the missile strikes the turret rear, setting off the ammo storage. The tank can be seen to move after being hit, which suggests that the driver survived the attack, at least initially. One crew member is seen jumping from the turret after the ammunition is already burning. This suggests that the compartmentalized ammo storage system worked, preventing the ammo fire from immediately killing the crew.
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