IRAQ — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi told a national TV station that his Army lost at least 2,300 armored humvees during a battle with ISIS for the city of Mosul in 2014.
He went on to say the Iraqi Army also lost many arms when their ranks collapsed amid the extremist offensive.
ISIS gained control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, last summer. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers fled as the hard-line fighters took over the city, ABC News reported.
The United States has supplied Iraq with hundreds of millions of dollars in military hardware, including Humvees, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently claimed the country’s forces “just showed no will to fight” against ISIS.
Last year, the US State Department approved the potential sale to Iraq of 1,000 Humvees with increased armor, machine-guns, and grenade launchers for an estimated $579 million, according to a report by AFP.
Humvees — or high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV)— vary in price greatly depending on the specific hardware with which they are fitted.
