Long a source of many a conspiracy in the Arab world, it’s no secret Daesh (ISIS) has loads of U.S. military equipment. The humvees-like their other equipment from the U.S.-were captured from the Iraqi army when the militant group defeated them in numerous Iraqi cities in 2014. Daesh posseses so much stolen equipment that the U.S. government even asked Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota to explain how Daesh had so many of their trucks.
In 2015, multiple reports emerged that Daesh was using the humvees as suicide trucks laden with explosives, driving them at the enemy before detonating them. With the peshmerga (military of Iraqi Kurdistan) making gains against Daesh this month, will these deadly humvees continue to be used?
A June 6 article by The Daily Caller put the humvees back in the news cycle. A year after many of the reports on the suicide vehicles, some peshmerga soldiers say they have been used in 2016, including the May 3rd battle for Tel Saqf, Iraq.
The humvees are indeed deadly. “The group (Daesh) uses suicide attacks, particularly suicide car bombings, to initiate major battles and to disrupt pending Iraqi counteroffensives,” wrote The Soufan Group, a top intelligence analysis firm, citing the battle of Ramadi as an example.
Some have speculated recently that Daesh is on the way out in Iraq. But given Daesh’s recent use of suicide humvees, perhaps we’ve yet to see the last of these deadly four-wheeled machines.
--AL
