50 kilometers east of Kirkuk, ambush point.
Time: Local time 05:47.
Song Heping lay in a natural rock crevice on the reverse slope of the ridge line, his right eye pressed tightly against the eyepiece of the AN/PAS-13 thermal imaging viewer, the screen glowing with a ghostly green light.
The thermal imager filtered out the thick fog interference, presenting the scene of the dried riverbed below in the form of temperature differential color blocks—seven clear thermal signals were bouncing along the ancient river course.
Three Mercedes G500 military bulletproof SUVs, their body contours under thermal imaging showed a stark difference from civilian models in terms of heft and edges, caused by multilayer composite armor and bullet-proof glass creating thermal disparities.
Ten armed pickups guarded front and rear, each with a DShK 12.7mm heavy machine gun and PKM 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun mounted on their beds.
