The Islamic State later released a document online showing photographic evidence of the destruction of 10 Leopard tanks, five of which were damaged by anti-tank missiles, another two by mines or IEDs, one by rocket or mortar fire, and the others to more ambiguous causes. In total, some eleven tanks, three infantry (mobility) fighting vehicles, and an armored personnel carrier were reported damaged during the al-Bab fighting. To their surprise, the tanks were unable to stand the adversary firepower with multiple Leopard tanks damaged in the counterfire. Turkey had bought one of the best tanks to the battleground – the German Leopard 2A4 – which it had hoped would confront ISIS anti-tank missiles and improvised explosives which had previously destroyed many of the country’s M-60 Patton tanks. Turkish military campaign carried on successfully until it reached the city of al-Bab, around 40 kilometers east of Aleppo, in December 2016, where the armored vehicles faced a barrage of Daesh and Kurdish missiles. The joint force flushed out the so-called Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish forces who had taken control of the territory.
The cross-border military operation was carried along with Syrian rebel factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). On 24 August 2016, the Turkish military began the operation ‘Euphrates Shield’ (ES) to clear the northern Syrian territory of the ISIS presence. Turkey has been forced to turn to domestic defense companies for upgrades to the Soviet-era tanks. But how did Leopard-2 Tanks operated by Turkey fare against ISIS in Syria? German Leopard-2 Tanks are often considered one of the most powerful main battle tanks in the world. The Eurasian Times a écrit: How One Of World’s Most Powerful Main Battle Tanks ‘Leopard 2’ Was Decimated By ISIS In Syria
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