Weapons & tactics of Iran-backed Badr combat force, investiture of Fallujah

Sixty video stills from two YouTube videos posted 11JUN15 and 12JUN15, depicting fighting advance of an Iran-backed Badr combat force in the vicinity of Saqlawiyah, the objective being military investiture of Fallujah.

Video Part 1:

U.S. supplied M1A1M main battle tank attached to Iran-backed Badr combat force, fitted with sectarian flag featuring likeness of Imam Hussein.

Formerly U.S. supplied to ISF, HMMWV seen modified with top-mounted turret fitted with ZU-23-2 autocannon and operated by Iran-backed Badr combat force.

Formerly U.S. supplied to ISF, HMMWV seen modified with top-modified turret fitted with what appears to be KPV type 14.5 heavy machine gun, operated by Iran-backed Badr combat force.

View of turret for above HMMWV, with Iran-backed Badr military wing markings clearly visible

Formerly U.S.-supplied to ISF, HMMWV seen modified with addition of steel plate attached to front of vehicle, operated by Iran-backed Badr combat force.

Wheel loader improvised into ACEV. Note Badr paramilitary in foreground equipped with U.S.-supplied AT-4 anti-tank weapon.

Badr paramilitary fighters armed with what appear to be U.S.-supplied M16 type assault rifles

Badr paramilitary fighter equipped with U.S.-supplied AT4 anti-tank weapon

Turkish-origin Otokar APV operated within Iran-backed Badr combat force

T-72 type main battle tank seen in IRGC-GF camouflage scheme, alongside Iran-backed Badr paramilitary fighter equipped with what may be a U.S.-supplied M16 type assault rifle.

Formerly U.S.-supplied to ISF, up-armored HMMWV fitted with 9M133 Kornet ATGM and operated by PMF

Badr combat operation depicting PKM gunner firing behind stacked cinder-block cover, while T-72 type MBT in IRGC-GF camouflage scheme provides direct fire support.

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary advance toward what appear to be prepared ISIL positions withdrawn or neutralized

ISIL-operated VBIED successfully hit and destroyed by Iran-backed Badr paramilitary equipped with AT4 anti-tank weapon.

Hostile position, identified with ISIL flag

Position captured from ISIL by Iran-backed combat force, hoisting of Badr and Iraqi national flags

Captured ISIL-held position, with knocked out DShK heavy machine gun

Jubilant Iran-backed Badr paramilitary fighters, amid previously U.S.-supplied to Iraqi Army M113A2 armored personnel carriers.

Iran-supplied Safir ("Ambassador") tactical vehicle equipped with M40 type recoilless gun, operated by Badr combat force.

Indirect fire by IRAM, during Iran-backed Badr combat operation in the vicinity of Saqlawiyah

Uniform adornment with image of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, in the style of adornment used by Iranian forces for Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran-Iraq War three decades ago.


Video Part 2:

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary rifleman, firing beside U.S.-supplied Caiman MRAP

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary, firing turret machine gun atop U.S.-supplied Caiman MRAP

Formerly U.S.-supplied to Iraqi Army M113A2 armored personnel carrier, accompanied by Iran-backed Badr combat infantry force

Iran-backed Badr fighter firing PKM type machine gun, beside Badr-modified HMMWV equipped with top-mounted, turreted ZU-23-2 autocannon.

Iran-backed Badr ZU-23-2 gunner's view, within above HMMWV open-top turret

PKM type machine gun firing port, within Iran-backed Badr fighting vehicle

Reloading of armament for Iran-backed Badr fighting vehicle. Note Badr sleeve uniform patch on foreground figure.

Iran-backed Badr sapper, in action during combat operation in the vicinity of Saqlawiyah

IqAAC lieutenant colonel and major, coordinating helicopter support for Iran-backed Badr combat force

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary combat force leader

HMMWV and MBT festooned with Badr military identification

Firing of main armament, Badr-attached M1A1M main battle tank

Badr paramilitary advance behind T-72 type main battle tank

Firing of main armament, Badr-attached T-72 type main battle tank

T-72 type main battle tank in IRGC-GF style camouflage scheme, U.S.-supplied Guardian Armored Security Vehicle and U.S.-supplied M113A2 armored personnel carriers.

Halted advance of Iran-backed Badr AFVs

U.S.-supplied Caiman MRAP, brought to the forefront of road-bound Badr vehicle convoy 

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary fighters advancing towards neutralized ISIL fortified position

ISIL fortified position neutralized by Iran-backed Badr paramilitary combat force 

Iran-backed Badr military commanders, outfitted in khaki and keffiyeh

Iran-backed Badr paramilitary, noteworthy for wearing a helmet

ISIL position neutralized by Iran-backed Badr paramilitary combat force 

ISIL fortified position neutralized by Iran-backed Badr paramilitary combat force 

Badr paramilitary firing PKM type machine gun behind T-72 type main battle tank

T-72 type main battle tank, traversing to position frontal armor in direction of incoming hostile fire

Iran-supplied T-72 main battle tank attached to Badr paramilitary combat force

Iran-backed Badr IRAM launcher, providing indirect fire against ISIL position

VIDEOS:

Anbar Province, Iraq’s Largest, Could Fall to Islamic State

The Islamic State fighters are about to overrun Anbar province, Iraq’s largest. They already control Fallujah and other smaller towns in Anbar, and are threatening to capture the provincial capital of Ramadi. They already control all of the areas around Ramadi and some parts of the city and are closing in on the city’s center.

“If Ramadi falls, all of Anbar falls,” said Ahmed Abu Risha, a prominent tribal sheik who commands pro-government fighters in the area. (Washington Post, 9 October)

The Iraqi security forces recently lost the strategic Saqlawiyah military camp, west of Fallujah, to Islamic State. That loss demoralized the ISF stationed in Anbar, as soldiers fled when IS fighters advanced toward the base. There are still some 300-500 soldiers missing and many others were massacred by the insurgents. That loss is now playing big in Islamic State’s push to capture Ramadi. The militants also overran Albu Aytha military base, located in Anbar and only 50 miles from Baghdad.

The capture of the entire province would give Islamic State control of the major Haditha dam and several army installations, which would add to their already abundant stockpile of captured weapons. It would also allow them to establish a supply line from Syria almost to Baghdad, giving the militants a valuable position from which to launch attacks on the Iraqi capital. (Washington Post, 9 October)

File photo: Ramadi, 2014 (Reuters/BBC)