Explosion Kills US Trooper in MRAP Armoured Vehicle
The US military has announced that a recently-deployed armoured vehicle was hit in Iraq on the 19th January – the attack resulting in the death of a single troop.
In a statement read out on the 22nd Jan, Major Winfield Danielson confirmed: "An American soldier was killed in an improvised explosive device attack on a MRAP vehicle in Arab Jabour."
He continued: "This was the first fatality involving an IED (roadside bomb) attack on a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle anywhere. There were three other soldiers who sustained non life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack. The incident is still under investigation and no other details are available."
1,500 US Military MRAP Vehicles in Iraq
Around 1,500 MRAP vehicles now serve in Iraq, with the first having arrived there eight months ago.
Saturday’s incident occurred in Arab Jabour – an area close to Baghdad and one attacked by the USAF three times so far this year. These airstrikes, described in detail here, are a component of Operation Phantom Phoenix – an Iraqi-wide crackdown on al-Qaeda that began on the 8th January.
Since the airstrikes took place, ground forces have been highly active there.
The New York Times reported that the bomb blast sent the MRAP vehicle aloft, before it crashed down beside a ditch. Four service personnel were on board; three received injuries to their feet and were cut, while the gun operator was fatally injured.
The publication added that the severity of the explosion – according to Captain Michael Fritz – would have been sufficient to “take out” a Bradley tank – one of the two principal armoured vehicles used by the US armed forces in Iraq (the other is the Humvee).
US Mil: MRAP Provides Improved Troop Protection , but no Vehicle 100% Effective
Major Danielson described how the MRAP vehicle was intended to “provide improved protection for our forces”.
"The MRAP has proven to be a much improved vehicle in terms of protecting troops from the effects of improvised explosive devices”, he asserted.
“However no vehicle is 100 percent invulnerable to attack."
Pentagon has Ordered 15,000+ MRAP Vehicles
In 2007, the Pentagon recognised the MRAP's importance and placed a $22.4 billion order for 15,400 examples. As well as in Iraq, about 500 MRAPs also serve in Afghanistan.
Up 10 ten troops can be accommodated onboard the vehicle, which weighs approximately 18 tons and is around 12 feet in height.
Source – Armed Forces International’s US Correspondent
