I love seeing stuff like that come from this region. Many of the Armed Forces and terrorist/paramilitary groups are absolute trash at combat. They are, however, very adept at ambush tactics using explosives and whatnot. Daesh has been regularly getting their asses handed to them by the Kurds throughout the whole occupation of Syria and Iraq. The Iraqi military, even though billions of dollars and over a decade of training has been given to them, are actually worse fighters than Daesh even. I, for the life of me, cannot figure out how they are so damn bad when Iraq has fought so many wars in recent history. Iran isn't much better, and the Syrian Armed Forces are only adept at killing their own civilians. Al-Qaeda, Daesh, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and other terrorist/extremist organizations are only successful when they target civilians and weak government targets, such as in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, et al. yet falter against strong, determined foes. Footage like this helps to break the air of almost mystical invulnerability too many in this world believe about them. Do not be too bold, there are groups in the past that ARE very effective at conventional AND assymetrical warfare, such as Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, the Mahdi Army, the Quds Force and other nasties like that. Fortunately, they are far smaller in numbers, far more focused on singular objectives and generally get more involved with the political arena as time goes on. Think of them as the ME equivalent of the IRA.
If you want a shining example of how an Arab/Middle Eastern military should be, look to Jordan. Very professional, well-trained, and dedicated to whatever mission they are tasked to do. If it was the Jordanian military instead of Daesh behind the terrorism, I would definitely worry. Regardless, extremism, in any form, be it religious or political, has no place in modern society. Hopefully the world will be galvanized enough to join the fight to end this shit and pressure the shadow benefactors behind many of these groups to either join in and stop funneling money or face dire consequences, such as the House of Saud. It has been leaked that the pages of the 9/11 commission that are still classified remain so due to evidence of direct Saudi involvement in that attack, as well as many others.
Alright, now to an analysis of this video. First, the equipment used by Daesh in this video is actually not that bad. The vehicles are most certainly subpar, but improvised armored vehicles are a viable tool of war when no other options exist. The weaponry is a bit old and outdated, but is still just as lethal. The tactics, though, the tactics... well they leave a lot to be desired. Bitching about hot brass from your crew-served gunner? Fuck off! That is your largest casualty-causing weapon system. If I had a penny for every time I caught a casing down my collar, I wouldn't be here talking to you all. I'd be naked and drunk on my own private island. War is not comfortable. Second, the RPG-7, as with any rocket propelled munition, has something called a backblast. The grenadier did not clear the back end of the launcher over the armor plating enough and could have killed his fellow fighters. We are trained to yell out "backblast area clear!" before we launch ANY rocket-propelled munitions. This prevents unnecessary injury. If they were worried about using it in close quarters, fill a gallon ziplock bag with salt water to dampen the backblast.
As far as rolling around on the ground like that? Open desert. Exposed. No cover/concealment. The point of infantry movement techniques is to move as quickly as possible, utilizing as much cover/concealment as possible, and still be combat effective. Rolling around Hollywood-style accomplishes NONE of that. If the Kurds had better positioning, they could have picked them off with ease. A low crawl or 3-5 second rush with your squad members providing covering fire would have been safer and more effective here. Also, why does it always seem like no one ever really aims their weapons in vids like these? Yes, the more rounds you can send down range, the better, but the more rounds you can send down range ACCURATELY is best. Thank Ako, our Lord and Saviour (so fucking fancy I put the U in there) that the collective might of the world is fighting these fucktards and not a rehash of the Soviet Union or something like that.
