US, Saudi Arabia Arms Significantly Enhanced Daesh’s Capabilities
Local Editor
An extensive field investigation into the origins of Daesh [the Arabic Acronym for the terrorist "ISIS"/"ISIL" group] weaponry in Syria and Iraq has found that weapons supplied by the US and Saudi Arabia to the Syrian opposition often ended up in the terrorists' hands, enhancing the "quantity and quality" of their armaments.
While most weapons in Daesh arsenal were captured from the Syrian and Iraqi armies, Conflict Armament Research [CAR]'s report, published on Thursday, found that the number of US and Saudi supplied weapons in Daesh's arsenal goes "far beyond those that would have been available through battle capture alone".
"Iraq and Syria have seen Isis forces use large numbers of weapons, supplied by states such as Saudi Arabia and the United States, against the various international anti-Isis coalitions that the two states support," researchers found.
"Evidence collected by CAR indicates that the United States has repeatedly diverted EU-manufactured weapons and ammunition to opposition forces in the Syrian conflict. "Isis" forces rapidly gained custody of significant quantities of this material," it said.
"[The findings are] a stark reminder of the contradictions inherent in supplying weapons into armed conflicts in which multiple competing and overlapping non-state armed groups operate."
The analysis of more than 40,000 items found that in total, however, about 90 per cent of the weapons and ammunition overall were made in Russia, China and Eastern Europe.
Three per cent of Daesh's arsenal was NATO-grade. The report also found that over the last three years had been able to produce its own military-grade weapons and standardize production across the so-called ‘caliphate'.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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