Iraqi army material losses from retreats are significiant

Defense News:
Iraqi security forces lost 2,300 Humvee armored vehicles when the Islamic State jihadist group overran the northern city of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday.

"In the collapse of Mosul, we lost a lot of weapons," Abadi said in an interview with Iraqiya state TV. "We lost 2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone."

While the exact price of the vehicles varies depending on how they are armored and equipped, it is clearly a hugely expensive loss that has boosted IS' capabilities.

Last year, the State Department approved a possible sale to Iraq of 1,000 Humvees with increased armor, machine guns, grenade launchers, other gear and support that was estimated to cost $579 million.

Clashes began in Mosul, Iraq's second city, late on June 9, 2014, and Iraqi forces lost it the following day to IS, which spearheaded an offensive that overran much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland.

The militants gained ample arms, ammunition and other equipment when multiple Iraqi divisions fell apart in the country's north, abandoning gear and shedding uniforms in their haste to flee.
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The Iraqis have a history of losing and they lack the leadership needed to turn things around.   The Iraqi army was routed twice by US and allied forces before being rebuilt, but it quickly deteriorated because of sectarian infighting after Obama's disastrous retreat from Iraq.  The Iranian backed forces are not much better and their leadership is not particularly intelligent.

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