The Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Missile gun fires flares during a weapons test at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2010. The C-RAM has the ability to fire up to 4,500 rounds per minute to protect the base against incoming projectiles. Taken on 31 January 2010 by Senior Airman Brittany Bateman, U.S. Air Force.
On January 21, an Iraqi group known as the International Resistance claimed that it destroyed two Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) systems during a recent attack on a convoy of United States forces in the country.
The convoy was targeted as it was passing near the town of al-Yusufiyah to the south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on January 19. In a brief statement, the shadowy group said that it had information that the convoy was carrying the C-RAM systems.
“A convoy was carrying two C-RAM systems, one for Ain al-Assad base and the other for the American embassy. Thanks to the accuracy of the work and the specialization of your brothers, the two systems were completely destroyed,” the statement reads.
The C-RAM is a land-based variant of the naval Phalanx close-in weapon system, an optical and radar-controlled rapid-fire gun for close-in protection. While naval Phalanx systems fire tungsten armor-piercing rounds, the C-RAM uses the 20mm high-explosive incendiary tracer, self-destruct ammunition, which were originally developed for the M163 Vulcan air defense system.
The U.S. deployed several C-RAM systems in Iraq years ago to protect its diplomatic mission and forces from repeated indirect fire attacks.
The International Resistance is one of several pro-Iranian groups that emerged in Iraq following the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy-Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, and Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani, by the U.S. more than three years ago. The main goal of these groups is to expel U.S. forces.
This was the International Resistance’s second attack this year. On January 12, the group targeted a convoy a convoy moving logistic supplies for U.S. forces in the Taji district to the north of Baghdad.
The U.S. Central Command is yet to comment on the claims made by the International Resistance. The attack on the C-RAM systems would be a major development in the operations of pro-Iranian forces in Iraq, if confirmed.
