islamic state ammunition in syria and iraq

8/20/2019 Islamic State Ammunition in Syria and Iraq

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ISLAMIC STATE

AMMUNITION IN

IRAQ AND SYRIA

DISPATCH FROM THE FIELD

Analysis of small-calibre ammunition recovered

from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria

October 2014


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Conflict Armament Research

Analysis of small-calibre ammunition recovered from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria2


Published online by Conlict Armament Research

© Conlict Armament Research Ltd., London,

First published in October

All rights reserved. No part o this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

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the scope o the above should be sent to the secretary, Conlict Armament Research (admin@

conlictarm.com).

Design and layout by Julian Knott (www.julianknott.com)


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Analysis of small-calibre ammunition recovered from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria 3

CONTENTS

Introduction

Key indings

Overview o documented materiel

Recently manuactured ammunition ( and afer)

Circumstances and materiel documented

Ammunition captured in northern Syria - Gatash

Ammunition captured in northern Syria - Avdoké

Ammunition captured in northern Iraq - Sinjar Mountains

Ammunition recovered in northern Iraq - Gwer and Hawerah

Endnotes


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INTRODUCTION

This Dispatch from the Field presents an analysis o

a sample o small-calibre ammunition recovered

rom Islamic State (IS) orces in Iraq and Syria. Its

indings derive rom a series o Conlict Armament

Research (CAR) ield investigations conducted in

the Kurdish regions o northern Iraq and northern

Syria July– August .

In Syria, the CAR investigation team worked

alongside Kurdish People’s Protection Units

(YPG) to document ammunition captured duringoffensives against IS orces—primarily near Ayn

al-Arab (Kurdish: Kobanê) and Ras al-Ayn (Kurdish:

Serekanî). In Iraq, the team worked closely with

Peshmerga orces loyal to the Kurdish Regional

Government to document spent cartridges rom

captured IS positions.

The rapidity with which the team documented

ammunition ollowing hostilities, and the team’s

close collaboration with the YPG and Peshmerga

orces that had ought the offensives, makes it

strongly likely that IS orces used all o the materielhighlighted in this Dispatch.

CAR documented more than , cartridges in the

ollowing locations:

• Gatash, Syria (GPS: ., .),captured on July

• Avdoké, Syria (GPS: ., .),captured on July

• Sinjar Mountains (North o Bara), Iraq (GPS:

., .), captured on August

• Between Gwer (Al Kuweyr), Iraq (GPS: .,.) and Hawerah, Iraq (GPS: .,

.), ired on August

CAR continues to trace the origins o the

ammunition described below and will deploy

additional ield investigation teams to Iraq and

Syria to document materiel rom IS orces.

GATASH

AVDOKÉ

IraqSyria

Turkey

SINJAR MOUNTAINS

GWER

HAWERAH

Mosul

Qamishli

Erbil

Map

CAR documentation sites in Iraq and Syria


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KEY FINDINGS

A DIVERSE PROFILE

The sample includes ammunition manuactured

in countries during a period o nearly years

(–). The variety and age o ammunition

used by IS orces indicates a large array o

ammunition supply sources, which is attributable

to the group having captured materiel during

numerous engagements, and against various

opponents, across Iraq and Syria. China, the

Soviet Union/Russian Federation, and the UnitedStates (US) are the top three manuacturing

states represented in the sample. Ammunition in

service with Iraqi and Syrian deence orces is also

signiicant in the sample.

IRANIAN AMMUNITION

IS orces in Iraq and Syria use Iranian-

manuactured ammunition dating rom to

. I transerred deliberately, the presence

o this ammunition outside o Iran violates UNSecurity Council Resolution (), which

prohibits Iran’s export o ammunition. Dates o

manuacture indicate the production and export o

this materiel during the on-going Syrian conlict.

US AMMUNITION

CAR documented more than US-manuactured

cartridges, dating rom the s—nearly per

cent o the materiel documented in this report.

IS orces appear to have acquired a large part otheir current arsenal rom stocks seized rom, or

abandoned by, Iraqi deence and security orces.

The US gifed much o this materiel to Iraq.

WOLF-BRANDED AMMUNITION

The Russian Federation manuactures . x R

mm ammunition, which is marketed by Sporting

Supplies International, Inc. (a US company) under

the brand name WOLF. IS orces use signiicant

quantities o this ammunition in Iraq and Syria.The US government has distributed WOLF

ammunition widely to allied states in the region.

RUSSIAN AMMUNITION

IS orces in Syria use Russian-manuactured

ammunition produced as recently as . The

age o this ammunition suggests a short chain

o custody—as little as seven months rom

manuacture in Russia to capture rom IS orces in

Syria. Syrian deence orces are a plausible sourceo this ammunition.

SUDANESE AMMUNITION

Sudanese-manuactured ammunition recovered

rom IS orces illustrates Sudan’s growing role

as an ammunition producer and as a supplier

o military materiel to parties engaged in armed

conlicts, not only in Arica, but also in the Middle

East.

THE VARIETY AND AGE OF AMMUNITION USED BYISLAMIC STATE FORCESINDICATES A LARGE ARRAYOF AMMUNITION SUPPLYSOURCES.


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OVERVIEW OFDOCUMENTED MATERIEL

CAR documented ammunition manuactured in

countries, with dates o production ranging

rom to . Two production periods, the

s–s and the s, are most represented in

the sample and primarily consist o ammunition

manuactured in China, Serbia, Soviet Union/

Russian Federation, and the US.

Note: The CAR investigation team documented a

total o , cartridges. O these were either

insufficiently marked, or too damaged, to determine

the year o manuacture and country o origin. This

lef a sample o , cartridges, which is presented

in Table .

CAR recovered most o the s–s-dated

ammunition in the sample rom IS orces in Syria.

Ammunition rom this period is predominantly o

Chinese and Soviet manuacture. By contrast, the

sample o ammunition recovered in Iraq is mainly

US-manuactured and comprises . x mm

cartridges, which are used in US-supplied M and

M assault riles o the Iraqi deence and security

orces.

The entire sample collected in Iraq and Syria

includes the ollowing calibres:

• x mm (NATO) – or use in sel-loading pistolsand sub-machine guns

• . x mm (NATO) and . x mm (WarsawPact) – each or use in assault riles

• . x mm (NATO) and . x R mm (WarsawPact) – each or use in riles and assault riles

• . x mm and . x mm (Warsaw Pact) –each or use in heavy machine guns

Country Total Country Total

China 445 Syria 18

Soviet Union 338 Czech Republic 18

United States 323 Iraq 14

Russian Federation 154 Albania 9

Serbia 142 Bosnia andHerzegovina

9

Romania 77 Germany 4

Bulgaria 63 Hungary 3

North Korea 34 Sudan 2

Turkey 27 Slovakia 2

Iran 26 Poland 2

Kyrgyzstan 20

Total Sample 1730

Table

Total number of cartridges

documented by country of

manufacture


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ISLAMIC STATE AMMUNITION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA

Total cartridges in the sample 1,775

(1,730 identiiable)

Total countries of manufacture 21

Total calibres documented 7

Earliest date of manufacture 19454

Latest date of manufacture 2014

Top five countries of manufacture(in order of frequency)

1) China2) Soviet Union

3) United States

4) Russian Federation5) Serbia

Table The sample in brief


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RECENTLY MANUFACTURED AMMUNITION(2010 AND AFTER)

• per cent o the sample dates rom or later(see Figure ).

• Chinese and Bulgarian cartridges account or

more than hal o this recently manuacturedammunition.

• . x R mm ammunition, employed in PKM-pattern general-purpose machine guns and

some riles, comprises nearly hal o the recently

manuactured ammunition in the sample.

• . x mm ammunition is the second mostcommon type in this date range. It is a NATO

standard calibre in widespread use among Iraqi

deence and security orces.

• Unusually, . x mm ammunition, usedin Kalashnikov-pattern assault riles that are

proliic in the region, accounts or only ive per

cent o the sample.

• O the x mm pistol ammunitiondocumented, Turkish-manuactured cartridges,

dating rom to , accounted or per

cent o the sample. CAR documented samples o

this ammunition in both Iraq and Syria.

Figure

Cartridges manufactured –

Bulgaria

China

Turkey

Serbia

Czech Republic

Iran

Russian Federation

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Sudan

C O U N T R Y O F M A N U F A C T U R E

TOTAL NUMBER OF CARTRIDGES DOCUMENTED

2

5

10

11

14

27

45

47


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CIRCUMSTANCES ANDMATERIEL DOCUMENTED

AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN SYRIA – GATASH

DescriptionThe YPG captured two mm mortar ammunition

boxes containing rounds o . x mm

ammunition. The sample includes ammunition

manuactured in China, Iraq, North Korea,

Romania, and the Soviet Union. Most o thecartridges date rom the s and s.

Captured on July

Captured inGatash, Syria (GPS: ., .)

Documented on July

Materiel

Two Chinese . x mm cartridges manufactured in and

AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN SYRIA – AVDOKÉ

DescriptionThe YPG captured ive different ammunition

calibres rom IS orces in Avdoké. Most are . x

R mm in calibre and manuactured in the s.

They include cartridges manuactured in Iran, the

ormer Czechoslovakia, the Russian Federation,

and the United States.

Captured on July

Captured inAvdoké, Syria (GPS: ., .)

Documented on July


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Materiel

. x R mm

Russian . x R mm ammunition,

manufactured at LVE Novosibirsk Cartridge Plant

JSC in and .

Iranian . x R mm ammunition,

manufactured in , , and by

the Defense Industries Organization (DIO)

Ammunition and Metallurgy Group (AMIG).

The dates o manuacture indicate that, i intentionally

transerred rom Iran (initial destination unknown), such atranser would contravene UN Security Council resolution

o December , which prohibits such exports.

ISLAMIC STATE FORCES IN

IRAQ AND SYRIA USE IRANIAN-MANUFACTURED AMMUNITIONDATING FROM TO .


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11Conflict Armament ResearchAnalysis o small-calibre ammunition recovered rom Islamic State orces in Iraq and Syria

. x R mm (contd)

WOLF . x R mm ammunition with unknown date of manufacture.

WOLF is a trademark o Sporting Supplies International (SSI),

a company based in Caliornia, which markets certain lines

o Russian-manuactured military ammunition. Although SSI

markets WOLF ammunition to US civilians, the US government

has widely purchased and distributed it. CAR also documented

identical WOLF ammunition at a checkpoint captured rom IS

orces by Peshmerga units in Iraq on August (see below).

. x mm/. Winchester

Czech . Winchester ammunition,

manufactured in by Sellier and Bellot,

mixed with Syrian . x mm ammunition,

manufactured in by the Industrial

Establishment of Defence.

CAR ound the ammunition loaded into the magazine o a

Croatian Elmech EM sniper rile.

x mm

Turkish x mm ammunition, manufactured

in and by Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi

Kurumu (MKE).

CAR ound the ammunition loaded into the magazine o a semi-automatic pistol. YPG orces also captured Turkish ammunition

manuactured in rom IS orces in Iraq.


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. x mm

Iranian . x mm ammunition manufactured

in , , and by the DIO, AMIG.Sudanese . x mm ammunition

manufactured in by the Military Industry

Corporation (MIC).

. x mm

Chinese . x mm ammunition manufactured

in and .


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AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN IRAQ – SINJAR MOUNTAINS

DescriptionDuring an assault on IS orces in Iraq, the YPG

captured . x mm ammunition loaded into

the magazines o MA assault riles and x

mm ammunition ound in the magazine o a Glock

G semi-automatic pistol.

Captured on August

Captured inSinjar Mountains (North o Bara), Iraq (GPS:

., .)

Date documented August

Materiel

. x mm

US . x mm ammunition manufactured in , , and at the Lake City Army Ammunition

Plant, Independence, Missouri, US. The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a US Government-owned

facility operated by Alliant Techsystems (ATK).

Serbian . x mm ammunition manufactured

in by Prvi Partizan A.D.


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AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN IRAQ – GWER AND HAWERAH

DescriptionPeshmerga orces directed the CAR investigation

team to several IS iring positions, which the

orce had occupied beore being displaced by

a Peshmerga offensive on August . CAR

documented heavy concentrations o expended

. x mm, . x mm, and . x R mm

ammunition at these positions. The US and

Serbian . x mm ammunition matches

samples previously captured in Iraq rom IS orces.

Fired on August

Documented inLocations between Gwer (Al Kuweyr), Iraq (GPS:

., .); and Hawerah, Iraq (GPS:

., .)

Date documented August

Materiel

. x mm

US . x mm ammunition manufactured in , , , and at the Lake City Army

Ammunition Plant, Independence, Missouri, US.


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. x mm (contd)

Serbian . x mm ammunition manufactured

in and by Prvi Partizan A.D.

Bulgarian . x mm ammunition

manufactured in by Arsenal JSCo.

. x mm

Iraqi . x mm ammunition manufactured in

by the Al Yarmouk State Establishment.

. x R mm

. x R mm WOLF ammunition, identical

to WOLF cartridges documented in Syria (see

above).


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ENDNOTES

For an analysis o previously captured IS weapons see Conlict Armament Research. . ‘Islamic State

Weapons in Iraq and Syria: Analysis o weapons and ammunition captured rom Islamic State orces in

Iraq and Syria.’ Dispatch rom the Field. London: CAR. September.

This Dispatch aims to review physical evidence rom the ammunition captured rom IS orces, or

collected rom the battleield, in order to provide a uller understanding o its types and origins. In the

absence o other orms o documentary evidence, it is not yet possible to attribute responsibility or

the supply o this ammunition to IS, or to identiy the complete chain o custody o the ammunition

presented in this Dispatch.

United Nations Resolution (), expanded by resolutions (), () and

().

CAR documented one Soviet-manuactured . x R mm cartridge rom .

Sporting Supplies International, Inc. n.d. ‘WOLF Perormance Ammunition.’

Chivers, C.J. . ‘Arms Sent by U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands.’New York Times. May.

.

Jenzen-Jones, N.R. . Following the Headstamp Trail: An Assessment of Small-Calibre Ammunition

Documented in Syria. Small Arms Survey Working Paper No. . Geneva: Small Arms Survey. April.

CAR documented Iranian . x mm ammunition rom at a position occupied by IS orces in Iraq

until August .


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CAR CONTINUES TO TRACE THE

ORIGINS OF THE AMMUNITION AND WILL DEPLOY ADDITIONAL

FIELD INVESTIGATION TEAMS TO

IRAQ AND SYRIA TO DOCUMENT

MATERIEL FROM IS FORCES.


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Email: [email protected]

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islamic state ammunition in syria and iraq

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