Direct proof of use
The M24 sniper rifle is documented in U.S. use during the 2003 Iraq War through official imagery and reporting from Mosul, Taji, and Joint Base Balad. A November 2004 U.S. Army image shows a 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment sniper armed with a 7.62 mm M24 while scanning for enemy activity from an Iraqi Police station in Mosul after insurgent attacks.
DVIDS reporting from February 2005 places M24-equipped U.S. personnel in a combat-zone sniper-school context at Taji. The story describes Arkansas National Guard soldiers attending sniper training while deployed in Iraq and identifies one soldier serving in a sniper role with the M24.
Sources: 1st Battalion 24th Infantry M24 in Mosul, Classroom to Combat Arkansas Soldiers Attend School in Iraq
Timeline
In November 2004, official defense imagery recorded the M24 in Mosul with Bravo Company snipers from 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. The caption places the soldiers at 4 West, an Iraqi Police station, after insurgent attacks and states that they were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On February 14, 2005, a DVIDS story from Taji described the National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit's sniper school running a mobile training course for deployed soldiers. The article says the course was requested in country and contrasts students using M14 rifles with an identified soldier serving in a sniper role with the M24.
On November 4, 2008, a DVIDS image caption documented a 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron airman behind the scope of an M24 sniper rifle in a Joint Base Balad entry-control tower after a report of possible small-arms fire.
Sources: 1st Battalion 24th Infantry M24 in Mosul, Classroom to Combat Arkansas Soldiers Attend School in Iraq, 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron M24 at Balad
Fielding and role
The available direct sources support U.S. coalition-side use rather than Iraqi government or insurgent operation of the rifle in this conflict record. They show the M24 in sniper and security roles: overwatch from an Iraqi Police station in Mosul, sniper-role employment around an in-theater training course at Taji, and entry-control-point security at Joint Base Balad.
The Balad record ties the rifle to force protection at a base access point. The caption says the airman was part of a two-person team tasked with preventing unauthorized vehicles and personnel from approaching the entry control point, and it places the M24 response after a report of possible small-arms fire.
Sources: 1st Battalion 24th Infantry M24 in Mosul, Classroom to Combat Arkansas Soldiers Attend School in Iraq, 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron M24 at Balad
