Insurgents planned attacks on U.S. copters in Iraq

Graphic showing American helicopters that were shot down in Iraq in 2007. From The New York Times.

This is an interesting story in The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 — Documents captured from Iraqi insurgents indicate that some of the recent fatal attacks against American helicopters are a result of a carefully planned strategy to focus on downing coalition aircraft, one that American officials say has been carried out by mounting coordinated assaults with machine guns, rockets and surface-to-air missiles.

The documents, said to have been drafted by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, show that the militants were preparing to “concentrate on the air force.” The contents of the documents are described in an American intelligence report that was reviewed by The New York Times.

Seized near Baghdad, the documents reflect the insurgents’ military preparations from late last year, including plans for attacking aircraft using a variety of weapons.

Officials say they are a fresh indication that the United States is facing an array of “adaptive” adversaries in Iraq, enemies who are likely to step up their attacks as American forces expand their efforts to secure Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

“Attacks on coalition aircraft probably will increase if helicopter missions expand during the latest phase of the Baghdad Security Plan or if insurgents seek to emulate their recent successes,” notes the intelligence report, which analyzes the recent helicopter crashes.

The American military has said that seven helicopters have been downed since Jan. 20, a figure that exceeds the total number of coalition aircraft shot down in 2006.

The Iraqi insurgents are learning, and adjusting their tactics in how to attack these American helicopters. What is especially chilling is the summary in the intelligence report--Attacks on coalition aircraft probably will increase if helicopter missions expand during the latest phase of the Baghdad Security Plan or if insurgents seek to emulate their recent successes. President Bush is going to send his 21,000 troop surge into Iraq--regardless of whatever resolutions Congress is able to pass. This increase in American troops will certainly require a greater use of helicopters--either for transport or ground attack. According to the NY Times story:

American helicopters are being used extensively as American troops try to avoid the bombs hidden along streets and roads. Low-flying aircraft are also vulnerable when they pass over urban areas. In 2005, American Army helicopters flew 240,000 hours. In 2007, Army helicopters are expected to fly more than 400,000 hours, military officials said.

When American casualties started to increase due to the roadside bombs that were planted by the insurgents, the military decided to ferry their troops via helicopters as a way to avoid such roadside bombs. Now the insurgents are adjusting their tactics in response to the increased reliance on helicopters by American forces. Even this is not new. We've seen how the insurgency has changed their tactics with an example of how insurgents, dressed as American and Iraqi soldiers, were able to slip through lax Iraqi checkpoints to ambush an American security meeting in Kabala. There have been plenty of news reports detailing incompetence and corruption in Iraqi security forces. So it is really no surprise that the insurgents are successfully adjusting their tactics in fighting against the American occupation forces.

But it gets better. Not only are the insurgents adjusting their tactics in shooting down the American copters, but they are also ready to ambush American forces engaged in rescue operations of these downed copters:

After downing the helicopters, the insurgents often laid ambushes for the American ground troops they expected to come to the rescue, sometimes using roadside bombs that they placed in advance. American troops were attacked in five instances in which they rushed to the scene of aircraft that had been shot down, military officials said.

The intelligence report supports the concerns expressed by an American general this month that militants were adapting their tactics in an effort to step up attacks against helicopters. Such strikes have increased since the United States expanded its military operations in Baghdad in August. From December to January, the number of antiaircraft attacks rose by 17 percent, according to an American military report.

Insurgents in Iraq have boasted about the helicopter downings and posted video of some of the wreckage on militant Web sites. While Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has claimed it has “new ways” to shoot down the aircraft, some American analysts believe they are probably not employing new types of weapons but rather are making more effective use of arms already in their inventory.

The insurgents try to plan their attacks by studying flight patterns near American bases and along supply routes, according to the intelligence report.

In several recent helicopter downings, the attackers used a variety of weapons, including shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and unguided rockets that cannot be diverted by the flares helicopters disperse to fool heat-seeking systems.

So we can expect more Americans to be brought home in flag-draped coffins.