Direct proof of use
DVIDS imagery from January 31, 2017 documents an Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service trainee firing a MK-19 grenade launcher during live weapons training near Baghdad. The caption identifies the training as part of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve's building-partner-capacity mission for forces fighting ISIL.
A second DVIDS record from May 28, 2020 documents coalition members conducting a Mark 19 40 mm grenade machine-gun live-fire exercise at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. Together, the public records support Mk 19 fielding in the anti-ISIS coalition and partner-force training system, rather than a named battlefield engagement.
Sources: ICTS Trainee Shoots Machine Gun, Coalition members conduct Mark 19 live-fire exercise
Timeline
The first dated record on this page is the January 2017 Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service live-fire event near Baghdad. DVIDS describes ICTS as Iraq's elite counter-terrorism force and links the training directly to partnered forces fighting ISIL.
The later May 2020 Al Asad record places the Mark 19 in coalition live-fire training after Islamic State had lost its territorial caliphate but while CJTF-OIR remained active in Iraq. The record identifies the location as Iraq and the unit context as Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.
Sources: ICTS Trainee Shoots Machine Gun, Coalition members conduct Mark 19 live-fire exercise
Role in theater
In the documented Islamic State war records, the 40 mm automatic grenade launcher appears as a crew-served weapon used in coalition and partner-force live-fire training. The 2017 record shows an Iraqi CTS trainee firing the Mk 19 as part of a capacity-building program, while the 2020 video shows coalition members maintaining Mark 19 proficiency at Al Asad.
The sources do not identify a specific ISIS target, battle, or combat fire mission for the launcher. They do, however, directly place the Mk 19 within the CJTF-OIR training and force-readiness structure that supported Iraqi and coalition operations against Islamic State forces.
Sources: ICTS Trainee Shoots Machine Gun, Coalition members conduct Mark 19 live-fire exercise
