2014 War Against the Islamic State

81/82 mm Mortar in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State

CJTF-OIR imagery documented an Iraqi 73rd Brigade soldier training with an M252 81 mm mortar at Camp Taji in June 2015 as part of coalition building-partner-capacity work against ISIL.

Weapon profile81/82 mm mortar
SideAnti-ISIS coalition and partner forcesRoleTraining & Foreign Aid
81/82 mm mortar, 81/82 mm crew-served medium mortar, Artillery - 2014 War Against the Islamic State
Image source: M252 mortar.jpg

Timeline

81/82 mm mortar In 2014 War Against the Islamic State

  1. Iraqi 73rd Brigade trains with M252 at Camp Taji

    A CJTF-OIR public-domain image caption documented an Iraqi 73rd Brigade, 16th Division soldier practicing aim with an M252 81 mm mortar during weapons training at Camp Taji, Iraq.

    Sources: Iraqi 73rd Brigade M252 Training

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Documented 81/82 mm mortar use in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State is supported by CJTF-OIR imagery from Camp Taji, Iraq. A DVIDS caption dated June 25, 2015 identified an Iraqi soldier assigned to the 73rd Brigade, 16th Division practicing aim with an M252 81 mm mortar system during weapons training.

The same caption tied the training to coalition building-partner-capacity sites and described that work as part of CJTF-OIR's multinational effort to train Iraqi security force personnel to defeat ISIL. The source therefore supports partner-force fielding and training with the M252 in the conflict, but it does not document a specific combat fire mission.

Sources: Iraqi 73rd Brigade M252 Training

Timeline

The source-backed milestone for this record is June 25, 2015, when the Iraqi 73rd Brigade, 16th Division was photographed training with the M252 81 mm mortar at Camp Taji. The image was posted on June 28, 2015, during the early building-partner-capacity phase of 2014 Operation Inherent Resolve.

No additional dated incident is added here unless a source directly identifies an 81 mm or 82 mm mortar in the same conflict context. General mortar specifications, broad Iraqi inventory references, or unverified battlefield footage are not used to expand the conflict-use claim.

Sources: Iraqi 73rd Brigade M252 Training

Operational role

The documented role was indirect-fire training for Iraqi partner forces rather than a confirmed combat engagement. In the cited event, the M252 appears as a crew-served 81 mm mortar used in weapons training for an Iraqi Army brigade under the coalition's partner-force development effort.

For catalog purposes, the row belongs to the anti-ISIS coalition and partner-force side because the directly identified user was an Iraqi Army soldier and the source places the training within CJTF-OIR's effort against ISIL. The broader 81/82 mm family entry remains model-bounded here: the source names the M252 81 mm mortar, not an unspecified 82 mm system.

Sources: Iraqi 73rd Brigade M252 Training

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Sources