Relying on harassing tactics never exhibited during the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi military has inflicted heavy damage this week on two of the US Army's most fiercesome weapons, the Abrams tank and the Apache Longbow helicopter gunship(Xinhua photo)...

WASHINGTON: Relying on harassing tactics never exhibited during the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi military has inflicted heavy damage this week on two of the US Army's most fiercesome weapons , the Abrams tank and the Apache Longbow helicopter gunship.

Defence officials and analysts were quick to note that no US troops had been killed in Iraqi attacks that badly damaged about 30 Apache Longbows and disabled two Abrams tanks and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Hundreds of Iraqis died and dozens of Iraqi armoured vehicles were destroyed in the process, they noted.

But they were nonetheless impressed by the Iraqis' adaptive tactics and their willingness to fight, both of which might have been underestimated by some in the Pentagon on the basis of the Iraqis' performance 12 years ago, when their armour formations were destroyed in the open desert and tens of thousands of troops surrendered.

"This is not a stupid force," said Anthony Cordesman, a former Pentagon official at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who is an expert on the Iraqi military. "It's been studying US, Russian, Chinese and Yugoslavian literature on asymmetric warfare for 12 years. The elite units have fought well in the past. And this is not a group of cowards."

The Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles were disabled on Tuesday after Iraqi soldiers repeatedly fired upon the 7th Cavalry Regiment's 500 vehicle convoy moving north as part of the 3rd Infantry Division's advance on Baghdad.

Taking advantage of sandstorms that grounded Apache attack helicopters that would otherwise have provided air cover for the convoy, Iraqi forces believed to be a Republican Guard commando battalion repeatedly attacked with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and small arms fire. Some engagements were hit and run. Some involved troops dug in several hundred yards on either side of the road.

During a climactic encounter on Tuesday, the convoy was attacked by hundreds of soldiers. US forces called in air strikes and counterattacked and killed most of the attackers. But when the smoke cleared, two Abrams tanks - virtually impregnable 70- ton behemoths - had been shot in their soft spot, a rear grill covering the engine. The tanks' four-man crews escaped in both cases, a testament to an Abrams' design that puts a premium on protecting crew members.

"A lot of this is just good war fighting," said one retired Army colonel. "But we haven't encountered it for a long time, and we didn't expect it from the Iraqis. And as they have success, it breeds success."

Some Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that this marked the first time Abrams tanks had been destroyed on the battlefield. An Army official disputed that, saying the tanks "were not blown to bits, they were rendered immobile. They're going to be evacuated, and repaired."

On the battlefield, it was not immediately clear what kind of weapon the Iraqis used to knock out the tanks. But a senior defence official said on Wednesday that it was a French-made Coronet anti-tank missile.

As the Iraqis demonstrate tactical flexibility and tenacity on the battlefield, foreign technology has become an increasing concern for US commanders. According to the Bush administration, the Iraqis have acquired night-vision goggles, anti-tank missiles and Global Positioning System jammers this year from three Russian companies.

In attacking a formation of about 40 Apache Longbows on Monday, the Iraqis staged a classic helicopter ambush first perfected by the North Vietnamese in the 1960s. As the lethal, tank-killing aircraft approached on a mission to destroy the Medina Division's dispersed armour, troops dispersed throughout a palm-lined residential area opened fire will anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and a wall of fire from rifles and other small arms.

While the Longbow is equipped with a $3 million millimetre- wave radar that can target tanks and air defences on the battlefield from five miles away, the $25 million aircraft are most vulnerable to troops who pop out from behind an obstruction as the helicopters are flying low overhead and open fire.

The Iraqi fire was so intense the Apaches had to break off their mission and return to base. With about 30 helicopters heavily damaged, only one went down in enemy territory. Its two- man crew was unharmed and taken prisoner.

"Iraqi tactics for using (anti-aircraft) guns and short-range defences reflect a good adaptation of Soviet methods," Cordesman said. "They are evidently using forward spotters to alert troops to oncoming helicopters, and possibly low flyers like the A-10.

The Iraqi (anti-aircraft) guns and other automatic weapons then send up a sudden curtain of fire from concealed positions as the helicopters flies into or over the position."-Dawn/The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Washington Post.

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