The Islamic State’s armoury comprises weapons “looted, captured or illicitly traded from poorly secured Iraqi military stocks” and those supplied to opposition groups in Syria by countries like Turkey and the US, an Amnesty report stated.
The Islamic State (IS) armoury boasts of Chinese surface-to-air missiles and Russian anti-tank missiles and the arms and ammunition are designed in more than 25 countries.
The report, “Taking Stock: The Arming of Islamic State,” blamed “decades of irresponsible” arms transfers to Iraq and “multiple failures of the” US-led occupation administration in Iraq in managing arms deliveries and stocks securely for such a situation.
The IS has also gained access to weapons from other sources, notably capture or sale of Syrian military stocks and arms supplied to armed opposition groups in Syria by countries, including Turkey, the Gulf states, and the US, the report stated.
Using these weapons, it said, the IS has committed serious human rights abuses and violated international humanitarian law. The Amnesty’s analysis came on the basis of expert analysis of a large number of videos and images that catalogues the array of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment.
“It finds that there is a close match between the types of weapons currently being used by the IS and the inventory of the Iraqi military, built up over the past five decades. The report concludes that a substantial proportion of IS’s current military arsenal comprises weapons and equipment looted, captured or illicitly traded from poorly secured Iraqi military stocks,” the report stated.
According to the report, IS fighters are now equipped with large stocks of mainly AK variant rifles besides the US military’s M16, Chinese CQ, German Heckler and Koch G3, and Belgian FN Herstal FAL type rifles.
