ajax front-end increment views on click

Try this:

jQuery(document).ready(function($){
    $('.external').click(function(e){
        var redirect = $(this).attr('href');
        $.post(ajax_object.ajaxurl, {action:'inc_views',post_id:$(this).attr('id')}, function() {
            return true; // continue with normal anchor link behavior
        });
        return false;
    });
});