US-Made Vehicles Led Iraqi Invasion of Kurdish Town

Peshmerga: Over 10 Humvees and an M1 Abrams Tank Destroyed in Fighting

Since the Iraqi Army as it is presently constituted is very much a US creation, it’s unsurprising that they are heavily armed with US-made equipment. Their new war with the Kurds, however, has US-made vehicles participating in attacks on long-time allies in Iraqi Kurdistan.

When Iraqi troops invaded the Kurdish town of Altun Kupri on Friday, when, it was an invasion led by US vehicles. And within the course of a three-hour battle, a number of US vehicles were destroyed.

The Kurdish Peshmerga commander confirmed “more than 10 Humvees and one M1 Abrams tank have been destroyed” in the fighting. It’s unclear what losses the Kurdish forces sustained, by they’re similarly armed by the US.

The US has been pushing to try to get both sides to stop fighting, and has threatened to stop training the Iraqi military if the offensive continues. For a massive arms exporter like the US, having a civil war between two US-armed factions would likely be an embarrassment.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.