dispatch is iraq syria ammunition

8/11/2019 Dispatch IS Iraq Syria Ammunition

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ISLAMIC STATE AMMUNITION INIRAQ AND SYRIA

DISPATCH FROM THE FIELD

Analysis of small-calibre ammunition recoveredfrom 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 Con lict Armament Research Con lict Armament Research Ltd., London,

First published in October

All rights reserved. No part o this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any orm or by any means without the prior permission in writingo Con lict Armament Research, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed withthe appropriate reprographics rights organisation. Enquiries concerning reproduction outsidethe scope o the above should be sent to the secretary, Con lict Armament Research (admin@con lictarm.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 manu actured ammunition ( and afer)

Circumstances and materiel documented

Ammunition captured in northern Syria - Gatash

Ammunition captured in northern Syria - Avdok

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 oa sample o small-calibre ammunition recovered

rom Islamic State (IS) orces in Iraq and Syria. Itsindings derive rom a series o Con lict Armament

Research (CAR) ield investigations conducted inthe Kurdish regions o northern Iraq and northernSyria July August .

In Syria, the CAR investigation team workedalongside Kurdish Peoples Protection Units

(YPG) to document ammunition captured duringoffensives against IS orcesprimarily near Aynal-Arab (Kurdish: Koban) and Ras al-Ayn (Kurdish:Serekan). In Iraq, the team worked closely withPeshmerga orces loyal to the Kurdish RegionalGovernment to document spent cartridges romcaptured IS positions.

The rapidity with which the team documentedammunition ollowing hostilities, and the teamsclose 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 theollowing locations:

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

Avdok, 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 theammunition described below and will deployadditional ield investigation teams to Iraq andSyria to document materiel rom IS orces.

GATASH

AVDOK

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 manu acturedin countries during a period o nearly years( ). The variety and age o ammunitionused by IS orces indicates a large array oammunition supply sources, which is attributableto the group having captured materiel duringnumerous engagements, and against variousopponents, across Iraq and Syria. China, the

Soviet Union/Russian Federation, and the UnitedStates (US) are the top three manu acturingstates represented in the sample. Ammunition inservice with Iraqi and Syrian de ence orces is alsosigni icant in the sample.

IRANIAN AMMUNITION

IS orces in Iraq and Syria use Iranian-manu actured ammunition dating rom to

. I trans erred deliberately, the presence

o this ammunition outside o Iran violates UNSecurity Council Resolution ( ), whichprohibits Irans export o ammunition. Dates omanu acture indicate the production and export othis materiel during the on-going Syrian con lict.

US AMMUNITION

CAR documented more than US-manu acturedcartridges, dating rom the snearly percent 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 de ence and security orces.The US gifed much o this materiel to Iraq.

WOLF-BRANDED AMMUNITION

The Russian Federation manu actures . x Rmm ammunition, which is marketed by SportingSupplies International, Inc. (a US company) underthe brand name WOLF. IS orces use signi icant

quantities o this ammunition in Iraq and Syria.The US government has distributed WOLFammunition widely to allied states in the region.

RUSSIAN AMMUNITION

IS orces in Syria use Russian-manu acturedammunition produced as recently as . Theage o this ammunition suggests a short chaino custodyas little as seven months rommanu acture in Russia to capture rom IS orces in

Syria. Syrian de ence orces are a plausible sourceo this ammunition.

SUDANESE AMMUNITION

Sudanese-manu actured ammunition recoveredrom IS orces illustrates Sudans growing role

as an ammunition producer and as a suppliero military materiel to parties engaged in armedcon licts, not only in A rica, but also in the MiddleEast.

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 manu actured in countries, with dates o production ranging

rom to . Two production periods, thes s and the s, are most represented in

the sample and primarily consist o ammunitionmanu actured in China, Serbia, Soviet Union/Russian Federation, and the US.

Note: The CAR investigation team documented atotal o , cartridges. O these were eitherinsufficiently marked, or too damaged, to determinethe year o manu acture and country o origin. Thislef a sample o , cartridges, which is presentedin Table .

CAR recovered most o the s s-datedammunition in the sample rom IS orces in Syria.Ammunition rom this period is predominantly oChinese and Soviet manu acture. By contrast, the

sample o ammunition recovered in Iraq is mainly

US-manu actured and comprises . x mmcartridges, which are used in US-supplied M andM assault ri les o the Iraqi de ence and security

orces.

The entire sample collected in Iraq and Syriaincludes 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 ri les

. x mm (NATO) and . x R mm (WarsawPact) each or use in ri les and assault ri les

. 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 cartridgesdocumented by country ofmanufacture


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ISLAMIC STATE AMMUNITION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA

Total cartridges in the sample 1,775

(1,730 identi iable)

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 Union3) 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 ormore than hal o this recently manu acturedammunition.

. x R mm ammunition, employed in PKM-pattern general-purpose machine guns andsome ri les, comprises nearly hal o the recentlymanu actured ammunition in the sample.

. x mm ammunition is the second mostcommon type in this date range. It is a NATOstandard calibre in widespread use among Iraqide ence and security orces.

Unusually, . x mm ammunition, usedin Kalashnikov-pattern assault ri les that areproli ic in the region, accounts or only ive percent o the sample.

O the x mm pistol ammunitiondocumented, Turkish-manu actured cartridges,dating rom to , accounted or percent o the sample. CAR documented samples othis 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 ammunitionboxes containing rounds o . x mmammunition. The sample includes ammunitionmanu actured 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 AVDOKDescriptionThe YPG captured ive different ammunitioncalibres rom IS orces in Avdok. Most are . x

R mm in calibre and manu actured in the s.They include cartridges manu actured in Iran, the

ormer Czechoslovakia, the Russian Federation,and the United States.

Captured on July

Captured inAvdok, Syria (GPS: . , . )

Documented on July


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Materiel

. x R mm

Russian . x R mm ammunition,manufactured at LVE Novosibirsk Cartridge PlantJSC in and .

Iranian . x R mm ammunition,manufactured in , , and bythe Defense Industries Organization (DIO) Ammunition and Metallurgy Group (AMIG).

The dates o manu acture indicate that, i intentionally

trans erred rom Iran (initial destination unknown), such atrans er 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 Cali ornia, which markets certain lines

o Russian-manu actured 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 IndustrialEstablishment of Defence.

CAR ound the ammunition loaded into the magazine o a

Croatian Elmech EM sniper ri le.

x mm

Turkish x mm ammunition, manufacturedin and by Makina ve Kimya EndstrisiKurumu (MKE).

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

manu actured in rom IS orces in Iraq.


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. x mm

Iranian . x mm ammunition manufacturedin , , and by the DIO, AMIG.

Sudanese . x mm ammunitionmanufactured in by the Military IndustryCorporation (MIC).

. x mm

Chinese . x mm ammunition manufacturedin and .


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AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN IRAQ SINJAR MOUNTAINS

DescriptionDuring an assault on IS orces in Iraq, the YPGcaptured . x mm ammunition loaded intothe magazines o M A assault ri les and x mm ammunition ound in the magazine o a GlockG 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 AmmunitionPlant, Independence, Missouri, US. The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a US Government-ownedfacility operated by Alliant Techsystems (ATK).

Serbian . x mm ammunition manufacturedin by Prvi Partizan A.D.


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AMMUNITION CAPTURED IN NORTHERN IRAQ GWER AND HAWERAH

DescriptionPeshmerga orces directed the CAR investigationteam to several IS iring positions, which the

orce had occupied be ore being displaced bya Peshmerga offensive on August . CARdocumented heavy concentrations o expended

. x mm, . x mm, and . x R mmammunition at these positions. The US andSerbian . x mm ammunition matchessamples 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 mmUS . 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 manufacturedin and by Prvi Partizan A.D.

Bulgarian . x mm ammunitionmanufactured 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, identicalto WOLF cartridges documented in Syria (seeabove).


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ENDNOTES

For an analysis o previously captured IS weapons see Con lict Armament Research. . Islamic StateWeapons in Iraq and Syria: Analysis o weapons and ammunition captured rom Islamic State orces inIraq and Syria. Dispatch rom the Field. London: CAR. September.

This Dispatch aims to review physical evidence rom the ammunition captured rom IS orces, orcollected rom the battle ield, in order to provide a uller understanding o its types and origins. In theabsence o other orms o documentary evidence, it is not yet possible to attribute responsibility orthe supply o this ammunition to IS, or to identi y the complete chain o custody o the ammunitionpresented in this Dispatch.

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

( ).

CAR documented one Soviet-manu actured . x R mm cartridge rom .

Sporting Supplies International, Inc. n.d. WOLF Per ormance 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 AmmunitionDocumented 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 Iraquntil August .


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CAR CONTINUES TO TRACE THE

ORIGINS OF THE AMMUNITION AND WILL DEPLOY ADDITIONALFIELD INVESTIGATION TEAMS TOIRAQ AND SYRIA TO DOCUMENTMATERIEL FROM IS FORCES.


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Email: admin@con lictarm.com

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