Austrians Helping Kill Our Troops In Iraq?

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Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:05pm GMT 13/02/2007

Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.

The guns were part of a shipment of 800 rifles that the Austrian company, Steyr-Mannlicher, exported legally to Iran last year.

The sale was condemned in Washington and London because officials were worried that the weapons would be used by insurgents against British and American troops.

Within 45 days of the first HS50 Steyr Mannlicher rifles arriving in Iran, an American officer in an armoured vehicle was shot dead by an Iraqi insurgent using the weapon.

Over the last six months American forces have found small caches of the £10,000 rifles but in the last 24 hours a raid in Baghdad brought the total to more than 100, US defence sources reported.

The National Iranian Police Organisation bought the rifles allegedly to use them against drug smugglers in an £8 million order placed with Steyr in 2005.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/13/wiran313.xml



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[maxsolomon]

1. invade that continent!

who supports the troops now, mr. major?

[happyslug]

2. 100 Captured out of 800 weapons purchased????

These 50 Caliber Sniper rifles are NOT issued en-mass to units, but to individuals within the units. Often such weapons are issued one per Company (Or more accurately one per sniper who is assigned to that Company or Battalion). These are NOT Platoon or Company Level Weapons, but issued to snipers who operate in teams (With only one having the Rifle, the other team member is a spotter), often in conjugation with a Platoon or Company, but rarely permanently assigned to such Platoon or Company.

Thus my Comment on how did the US captured over 100 of these Rifles? By going to Austria and buying them? Such weapons are captured one at a time and when found are reported at that time. Capturing 2 0r more in an operation either means the US hit some sort headquarters OR capture them in transport to the end user who is still free to use whatever weapon he is using. This weapon is a specialist weapon, provided to well trained people who use them in carefully selected operations. These are NOT AK-47s, RPKs (Soviet Squad Level Automatic Weapon) or RPGs (Soviet Rocker propel Grenade, an Anti-Armor Weapon). AKs, RPKs, RPGs and even the SVDs (Soviet "Sniper Weapon" but more a Marksmen 7.62x54 Caliber Weapon than what armies in the West Calls a "Sniper Rifle", the US has used the M14 in the same role in certain units during the Iraq War) are platoon level Weapons. Mortars and PKs (Soviet Machine Guns) are Battalion Level Weapons (At least in Soviet Units, the US issues 60mm Mortars to Companies level Units and the US has retained a 7.62mm Machine Gun in Platoon Level Units).

Something is wrong here, what it is I do not know. The report may be a lie (Something I tend to go with) but if true how was the US able to capture so many such weapons? What Massive capture of Arms did the US capture and were shocked that such a number of Weapons were able to get into Iraq without Detection (And releasing this information for the US does NOT dare report how many rounds of Ammunition was captured). Where is the Confirmation for Austria that these were indeed the weapons sold to Iran (The Serial Numbers would be a record in Austria).

Further Comment, where some Anti-Aircraft Missiles also Captured but the US does NOT dare release such information least the troops when they are riding in Helicopters demand more protection? You just do NOT capture 100 out of 800 weapons shipped, especially when the weapon is NOT a typical Company or Lower Unit Level Weapon unless there is a massive capture of other weapons, Platoon, Company and Battalion Level Weapons.

[JVS]

3. Fucking kangaroo-heads!