Iraq admits that ISIS captured 2,300 Humvees in Mosul
Middle East, News June 1, 2015 No Comments on Iraq admits that ISIS captured 2,300 Humvees in MosulIraq has admitted that ISIS jihadists captured huge caches of US-made weapons, including thousands of Humvees seized from Iraqi forces retreating from Mosul last year. The spoils of war have since then been used by ISIS to gain ground in Iraq and Syria.
“In the collapse of Mosul, we lost a lot of weapons,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in an interview with Iraqiya state TV. “We lost 2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone.”
ISIS captured Iraq’s second city of Mosul in June 2014, as government forces retreated from the country’s Sunni stronghold.
The number of potential heavy and light weapons abandoned by Iraq’s army remains unknown but over the past decade the US sold thousands of the armed vehicles to the Iraqis, in addition to tanks and other military hardware.
Just this month the Pentagon estimated that at least half a half dozen tanks were abandoned when Baghdad forces lost Ramadi, in addition to artillery pieces, and some 100 Humvees.
Yep, a whole truckload of #Iraq army Hummers captured by ISIS and on their way to #Syria: pic.twitter.com/BLqcbhnL52
— Aymenn J Al-Tamimi (@ajaltamimi) June 13, 2014
Meanwhile the US approved new arms deliveries to the Iraqis last December to replenish the stock ransacked by ISIS. One contract allows the sale of 175 heavy M1A1 Abarams worth $12.4 billion, while another approves the delivery of 1,000 Humvees, equipped with M2.50 caliber machine guns and MK-19 40mm grenade launchers.
They are exactly the types of weapons ISIS used to gain vast amount of territory both in Iraq and northern Syria. In fact, the first use of US-Humvees on Syrian territory was reported last year shortly after Mosul has fallen to jihadists.
In mid-May ISIS gained control of the capital of Anbar province where Iraqi forces had held out against militants for more than a year. They also secured control of Palmyra in Syria, carrying out many executions.
Meanwhile on Sunday CIA Director John Brennan acknowledged that ISIS gains in both Iraq and Syria did not really come as a surprise to the intelligence community.
“I went back over the intelligence of last week, taking a look at what we knew and when we knew it about ISIS and its movements inside of Iraq and Syria,” Brennan said in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation. “We saw a growing strength.”
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