Chapter 1791 - 1372: Titrick's All-Out Offensive Begins (2)

Naxin picked up the binoculars and looked toward number 3 checkpoint.

This was the northernmost choke point of the blockade, flanked by natural stone hills, with only a two hundred meter wide passage in between.

Through the Night Vision Goggles' green view, a long string of headlights was pouring out of Tikrit's west gate.

The back of those pickups were mounted with heavy machine guns or rocket launchers, and there were also several "suicide vehicles" reinforced with steel plates.

"Let them enter firing range." Naxin calmly ordered, "Antitank teams, prepare to lock onto the lead vehicle. Machine gun positions wait for my command."

The convoy drew closer and their silhouettes became discernible.

Each vehicle was packed with militants, some waving guns while others were crouched behind the machine guns atop the vehicles.

Distance: two kilometers.

Naxin could see that the lead pickup's bed was mounted with a DShK 12.7mm heavy machine gun, its muzzle flashing cold in the darkness.

One kilometer.

"Missile teams, fire."

Three "Toufan" antitank missiles were simultaneously launched.

This missile, a Persian imitation of East University's "Hongjian-8," used wire guidance, requiring the shooter to lock onto the target with the scope throughout.

Three streaks of light traced brilliant paths in the pre-dawn darkness, heading straight for the convoy's leading three pickups.

The first missile hit the lead pickup's engine compartment.

The shaped charge warhead created a superheated metal jet that pierced through the engine and detonated the fuel tank.

The pickup turned into a fireball, rolling toward the roadside, tossing five people into the air.

The second missile hit the cab of the second vehicle.

The jet penetrated the windshield, instantly vaporizing the driver and co-driver's upper bodies.

The vehicle lost control, crashing into roadside rocks.

The third pickup tried to evade, but the missile, under the shooter's control, curved in and drilled into the side.

The explosion shredded the seven militants on board and their rocket launchers.

"Fire!" Naxin shouted.

Machine gun positions across the blockade opened fire simultaneously.

7.62mm rounds from PKM general-purpose machine guns, 12.7mm rounds from DShK heavy machine guns, and RPG-7 rockets were launched, swarming toward the convoy like a storm.

Pickups were blown up one after another.

12.7mm rounds could easily pierce the pickups' weak bodies, turning those inside to minced flesh.

An RPG hit an ammo-laden pickup, causing a secondary explosion with a fireball rising over twenty meters high.

But there were too many from the 1515 Armed.

The vehicles at the back accelerated forward relentlessly, ignoring casualties.

Some militants jumped down, using the terrain for cover, firing toward the blockade.

"They're trying to clear the path with suicide vehicles!"

The adjutant shouted loudly, pointing at the distance.

Three heavily modified trucks charged out from the back of the convoy.

The front of these trucks was reinforced with thick steel plates, windows sealed with steel, leaving only narrow observation slits.

Each truck bed was packed with explosives.

"We can't let them near the defense line!" Sweat beaded on Naxin's forehead as he shouted, "Focus all fire on those suicide trucks!"

Antitank missiles launched again.

The first hit the lead truck's front, but struck an angled armored surface.

Ricochet!

The truck merely shook and continued accelerating.

The second missile hit the tires.

The right front tire of the truck exploded, vehicle losing control, veering off the roadway, but the driver desperately corrected the course, still heading for the blockade.

The distance was down to five hundred meters.

"Javelin!"

Naxin shouted into the radio.

The Holy City Brigade had only four US-made "Javelin" antitank missile launchers, one of the weapons airdropped by the US Army this time, considered "unofficial aid."

Now, these weapons came into play.

The "Javelin" missile employed top-attack mode.

Once the shooter locked the target, the missile ascended vertically to 150 meters altitude, then plunged down nearly vertically to target the armor's weakest top side.

The first "Javelin" ascended.

The missile rose high in an arc before diving down like an eagle, striking the roof of the out-of-control truck.

The top-attack "Javelin" was indeed more effective than the Persian imitations.

The shaped charge warhead pierced the thin roof armor, detonating the explosives inside the bed.

The explosion's brightness temporarily blinded Naxin despite wearing Night Vision Goggles.

The shockwave swept the battlefield, tossing everyone within a hundred meters of the blast aside.

The truck vanished, leaving a ten-meter diameter crater in its place.

Yet, the other two suicide trucks continued charging.

"Again! Take them all out!"

The remaining three "Javelins" all launched.

Two hit, blasting one truck to pieces, while the explosives of another detonated with three hundred meters left to the defense line, only killing a few 1515 militants who had charged too far ahead.

The third missile malfunctioned, self-destructing mid-air.

The last suicide truck covered the remaining three hundred meters, its driver flooring the pedal, the truck rushing toward the main defense position like a frenzied steel beast.

Distance: one hundred meters.

Naxin could see the distorted face within the cab, the person shouting something, possibly prayers or curses.

Distance: fifty meters.

Soldiers on the positions began retreating, but it was too late.

Naxin closed his eyes.

A massive explosion sounded, not once but thrice—suicide truck detonated, causing a chain reaction with landmines planted in front of the position, then igniting an ammo pile.

When Naxin opened his eyes, some positions on the first line of defense were gone.