Iraqi Air Force Combat Caravan planes Bomb Al-Qaeda Bases in Fallujah

In the last few days the Iraqi television aired footage showing the Iraqi Air Force bombing local Al Qaeda bases during counter-insurgency operation in Fallujah and Ramadi.

Militants, in control of more than half of Fallujah, have been clashing with security forces in the anti-government camp near Ramadi, to the west of Iraq’s capital town Baghdad.

Fighting quickly spread to Ramadi and Fallujah, and the Iraqi AC-208 bombed ISIS (Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) group, in central and south Fallujah, where militants attacked and burned local police stations, seized weapons and freed about 100 prisoners.

The AC-208 Combat Caravan is a COIN (Counter Insurgency) version of the civilian Cessna 208 Grand Caravan aircraft.

The light attack plane, converted by ATK company, is equipped with ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) systems and, above all, it can fire Hellfire missiles, as those used to pound militants in the videos available online.

Iraq is slowly rebuilding its military with new planes and helicopters: in order to support COIN and border patrol missions, it has just received the first of 40 Mi-35 and Mi-28N choppers.



H/T to Giuliano Ranieri for the heads-up

 

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About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.