A German army Leopard 2 tank during an exercise in Germany. The tanks, which form the mainstay of NATO's armored forces, have been used by the Turkish army in its offensive against the Islamic State in Syria. (US Army photo)
At least 10 of the 60-ton main battle tanks have been destroyed during a Turkish attempt to recapture the strategically important northern town of al-Bab, located just 15 miles south of the Turkish border, media reports have said.
The Turks have deployed several thousand soldiers in the operation, which began in September. But despite airstrikes by Russian warplanes in support of the advancing troops, they have been unable to take the town in the face of determined opposition.
Several dozen Turkish soldiers and local allies have died in the combat. Germany’s Die Welt newspaper said at least 10 Leopard 2s were destroyed and many others damaged in street fighting on the outskirts of al-Bab. The rebels are said to have used both U.S.-made TOW and Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles in attacks on the tanks.
Turkey’s leaders have criticized the Obama administration last month for not providing strike support to their units engaged in the al-Bab operation.
The 60-ton Leopard 2, built by Bavaria’s Krauss-Maffei, has been in service since the 1980s. A total of 2,100 were bought by the German army. But after the Cold War, defense cuts caused a sharp reduction in numbers, and only 325 of a modernized version currently remain in the inventory of the country’s panzer units. About 20 of these are the heavily redesigned and modernized A7 model, but many are earlier A4 models — the same as used by the Turkish army. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Stars and Stripes website.
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