This photograph from 1972 shows a woman Vietnamese Communist fighter carrying a U.S.-made M16, the military select-fire version of the AR-15. The photo was made for propaganda purposes, but in fact South Vietnamese Communists rarely used M16s in combat. They much preferred AK-47 rifles. As discussed in American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15, the M16 was considered difficult to maintain. Also, supplies of ammunition and cleaning materials were unreliable. You can read about the photograph here.
