Miles – Page 13 – Silah Report

AR70s in Iraq

February 17, 2017 by Miles

Images gained from Iraqi social media groups have indicated the transfer and usage of 5.56x45mm NATO Beretta AR70s. Specifically there has been one rifle spotted with the Shi’a Al-Abbas Brigade. The Al-Abbas Brigade was originally formed in Syria in 2012 but after heavy losses with Daesh moved to Iraq in 2014.

Some of these AR70s appear to have been modified with Airsoft picatinny rail handgun systems to provide a picatinny interface. The Italian rifle never received an upgrade to a picatinny system having been replaced by Beretta’s ARX-160 instead. The rail in the title photograph looks to be a very common AR Airsoft rail coming out of China with the oval vents, very similar to many handguards from UTG. However the example below might be one of the Daniel Defense fakes with the 12 o’clock gas tube vents actually installed at the 6 o’clock position. Both examples show an M16A4 handguard mounted to a rail section that covers the top portion of the rifle, leading S.R. to believe that they might originate from the same source or small arms market.

Safir AR Magazines in use by Peshmerga, Iran

February 13, 2017 by Miles

Safir Arms is a Turkish firearms company that primarily produces .410 AR clones. However, the company debuted a 5.56x45mm NATO AR magazine in 2014 along with a bullpup rifle under the name T-14 that shared a number of AR components. The rifle never seemed to have advanced past a prototype stage, but the magazine design included was turned into a manufacturing run. Currently it is listed on the company’s website and in the catalog. The listed magazine and bullpup rifle appear below along with a modular adaption of an AR rifle.

Unlike similar polymer magazines such as Magpul’s Pmag and ProMag’s signature polymer magazine, the Safir Arms version has four columns along the side of the magazine, in addition to a ribbed portion that sits below the magazine well of an AR when inserted. Observe the differences in the photographs of the Magpul and Promag-

However, recently the same magazine design has appeared in usage with certain Peshmerga forces, specifically security forces armed with NEA Arms PDWs in Kurdistan. In addition it also appeared in a recent Iranian defense weapons exposition in Tehran. Whether or not the magazine has been copied by the Iranians and being manufactured locally is unknown at this point in time.

With the Peshmerga in the ARES post-

And at the Iranian exposition-

FP’s Take on Malhama Tactical

February 10, 2017 by Miles

Malhama Tactical has been covered through numerous defense and small arms websites recently but this is the first time the print magazine Foreign Policy has ran an article on its unique guns for hire status. The group is led by an Uzbek fighter, who appears to have had some previous military training at an enlisted level.

From FP-

The group’s leader is a 24-year-old from Uzbekistan who goes by the name Abu Rofiq (an Arabic pseudonym that means father of Rofiq). Little is known about him other than that he cycles through personal social media accounts rapidly, using fake names and false information to throw off surveillance efforts. In virtually every video and photo posted online, he wears a scarf or balaclava to cover his face from the nose down, leaving visible only his narrow dark eyes and long, somewhat tangled, pitch-black hair. He speaks fluent Russian, but with a slight Uzbek accent.

Since launching in May 2016, Malhama has grown to do brisk business in Syria, having been contracted to fight, and provide training and other battlefield consulting, alongside groups like the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front) and the Turkistan Islamic Party, a Uighur extremist group from China’s restive Xinjiang province. And despite recent rebel setbacks in Syria, including the loss of Aleppo, demand for Malhama Tactical’s services in the country is as strong as ever, Abu Rofiq told Foreign Policy in an interview conducted over the messaging app Telegram.

But he is also beginning to think about expanding elsewhere. His group is willing to take work, Abu Rofiq says, wherever Sunni Muslims are oppressed. He cites China and Myanmar as places that would benefit from jihad. He also suggests that Malhama Tactical might go back to its roots, returning to fight in the North Caucasus against the Russian government.

The group’s videos do show a certain degree of tactical proficiency, but lack the finesse that comes with being an NCO, such as this video covering casualty aid under fire. The casualty is assessed and treated, but there is very little respect to security being provided.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OxLah2rgMM