Direct proof of use
The M136 AT4 is directly documented in the 2003 Iraq War through Army University Press urban-combat history. In the Combat Studies Institute volume In Contact! Case Studies from the Long War, Ricardo A. Herrera's study of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment operations at Tall Afar describes G Troop returning fire during the Sarai fighting with 120 mm main-gun, 25 mm chain-gun, machine-gun, and M136 AT4 antitank fire.
The same passage places the AT4 fire inside a larger firefight involving insurgent sniper, small-arms, and RPG fire, Special Forces and Iraqi soldiers joining with 40 mm grenade fire, and H Company providing overwatch. The cited source supports U.S. cavalry use of AT4 fire in the engagement; it does not separately establish Iraqi soldiers firing AT4s.
Sources: In Contact! Case Studies from the Long War, Volume I
Timeline
The documented AT4 episode falls during 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's 2005 operations around Tall Afar in northwestern Iraq. The source's surrounding chronology places Sarai fighting in the May-to-summer 2005 shaping operations before later actions in July, August, and the September 2005 Tall Afar operation.
Because the cited passage identifies the firefight and weapon effects but not a separate AT4 round count, target damage assessment, or named gunner, the timeline stays at the campaign-event level rather than treating the AT4 as an independently dated weapons-release record.
Sources: In Contact! Case Studies from the Long War, Volume I
Operational role
In this record, the AT4 appears as a shoulder-fired direct-fire weapon used alongside vehicle guns and machine guns in urban counterinsurgency combat. The source describes G Troop fighting in Sarai as the engagement expanded, with tanks, cavalry elements, Special Forces, Iraqi soldiers, and overwatch elements participating in the wider action.
The documented role was not a classic tank engagement. The source identifies AT4 antitank fire as part of a combined direct-fire response during a firefight against insurgents using sniper fire, small arms, and RPGs. That supports cataloging the M136 AT4 in this conflict as portable anti-armor and direct-fire support used against enemy positions in urban terrain.
The cited source supports the United States and coalition side for the AT4-specific claim. It mentions Iraqi soldiers in the same fight, but the explicit weapon attribution for Iraqi soldiers is 40 mm grenade fire, so Iraqi government operation of the AT4 is left unclaimed here.
Sources: In Contact! Case Studies from the Long War, Volume I
