Keeping it Quiet Part 2: HTS, Malhama Tactical & Rebel Groups

Keeping it Quiet is a series of articles by the Twitter account Everest65. First published on the webpage Calibre Obscura, he has been extremely generous in allowing Silah Report to republish his findings here. Content has been lightly edited. Be sure to look for the rest of the series as it becomes published.

In contrast to ISIS, The most publicly visual use of suppressed long guns by non-state groups in Syria has mainly been by HTS and their semi-affiliate/trainer/self-titled PMC Malhama Tactical, though ISIS has also used suppressors more sparsely.

Malhama Tactical is the infamous “Jihadi Blackwater“, and have a liking for applying Western/Russian SOF style, equipment and accessories, although their abilities, as assessed by Miles at The Firearm Blog, do not at all meet the standard of SOF, whilst generally superior to Irregular Opposition Forces and Conscripts. They are also fond of suppressors, and have shown videos of them using them in operations and training. This has also imbued into HTS- a Malhama-linked Twitter Account has proclaimed HTS militants seen using suppressors in a surprise attack in Latakia as “students”:

It seems that these groups have recognized the tactical benefits of use of suppressors on the battlefield, particularly in attacks and ambushes, and retain a somewhat standardized design for AK platform suppressors. This again is a reflection of current increasing trends in Western and Russian Forces to issue suppressors more widely- the Marine Corps publicly testing silencing every weapon of a battalion. It doesn’t seem that every fighter from Malhama carries suppressors also, which may indicate simple personal preference- this obviously somewhat dilutes the tactical benefits of suppressions if some in the squad are running unsuppressed.

The below 3 images and video show a small squad of HTS attacking Syrian regime troops in Latakia, and every member is using standardized suppressors, AK-74Ms and optics.

(Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham footage of a recent storming attack on a Syrian Ba’th regime artillery position in Jabal al-Turkman, Latakia governorate)

(Jabhat al Nusra (Later HTS) Canadian Fighter in Syria, with tripod and large suppressor. Rifle is a AKMS)

(Alwiya al-Furqan fighter identified as Abu Adam testing an AKMS with a self-manufactured silencer. Quneitra, October 2013. Similar design to the above JaN suppressor)

(HTS, Bashkuy, Syria. Storming regime fortifications.AK-74M, AKM, MPi-KMS-72, AK-74. Suppressors are camo wrapped.)

At least 2 of the fighters involved in the above attack were later killed and their weapons seized:

Syria Free News@Syria_FreeNews

#Hezbollah killed the well-equipped militants of Jabhat al-#Nusra which attacked their positions in the province of #Aleppo

8:17 PM – Sep 27, 2017

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Below are confirmed appearances of suppressors in the hands of Malhama Tactical.

(Syria, March 2017. Note M16A4 and a Steyr AUG unsuppressed. Rifle on the left is an AK-74, On right is an AKM. Note the overall optics and equipment attempting to mirror Western/Russian SOF.)

(Steyr Aug, Near Aleppo, Syria. 2016)

(Syria, 2016-2017. Same design as suppressors above. Training footage.)

This use of a suppressor by the YPG in Afrin on July 5 2018 as part of their campaign against the Turkish-FSA forces in that areas is unique, in that this is the first time I’ve seen the YPG use a PBS-1 Suppressor, likely on an AK variant- as the weapons used are referred to as sniper rifles this possibly a Tabuk, a “Dragunov-Lite” DMR that is based on the AK platform (Zastava M72 in particular). It has an open sight hood and the suppressor doesn’t look like a TGP-V (For Dragunov), but rather a PBS-1, a well known Soviet suppressor for 7.62×39.

The shot also seems rather loud, but the PBS-1 is at the lower end of volume reduction (AK platforms tend to suppress worse than the M16 family anyway, due to the different gas system and looser tolerances), at about 15 dB according to Wikipedia/US Testing. Modern western commercial suppressors are closer to 30 db. This is the only clearly military or commercial origin suppressor that I have seen in use by non-government actors in Syria or Iraq.