Between June 2015 and July 2016, I volunteered with the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, fighting against the so-called Islamic State in the first major counter-attacks against that entity which led to its defeat in 2019.
Miles
Black Aluminum in Cloth: Syrian M16/M4 Fabric Wraps
A phenomenon that has been observed with YPG/YPJ Fighters in recent years has been the practice of wrapping service rifles with fitted fabric. The extent to which rifles have been fitted goes from small pieces that might just cover the magazine or handguard to full-length covers that can sometimes enclose the entire rifle. The reason behind these wraps range from a sort of camouflage to a purely aesthetic venture. In this part of a series of posts looking at the trend we will examine the wraps seen on M16/M4-pattern rifles. You can find part one of this series here.
V16: Sniper Rifles and Tactics Against IS in Syria, a SMLE in Afghanistan, and a Counterfeit Revolver in Iran
Our guest speaker and main presenter in this week’s edition of the SR podcast is Ed Nash, author of Desert Sniper. Ed took part in the fighting against the so-called Islamic State when he travelled to Syria to fight with the Syrian Democratic Forces, ending up as a precision rifleman in the campaigns of Hasakah, Shadaddi, and eventually Minbij where he ended his tour. He covers everything from the odd tactics in use with the YPG, types of precision rifles employed, and some of the bits of kit that helped him through the fighting.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Region Modified 8mm M1 Garand Rifles
Due to the local economics of supply and demand, there is often a need to convert small arms to more available calibers in areas of the world where the supply of ammunition is a constant concern or has drastically risen in price. In the case of Pakistan, we see this very clearly with the popular use of 7.92 × 57 mm ammunition (colloquially known as ‘8mm’) among converted and rechambered firearms originating from the traditional gunmaking towns in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas adjacent to the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa region on the Northwestern borders of Pakistan (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province/NWFP, or abbreviated to KPK Region). One of the most interesting of these is the 8mm M1 Garand.
V15: Bul Armory Cherokee-Delta Defence Handgun Connection and Wacky IDF Sling Subculture
In this week’s Silah Report podcast we discuss a number of topics including a discussion surrounding one of our recent articles. Delta Defence Group is a brand of polymer frame, semi-automatic handgun that have been appearing in Iraqi and Syrian markets in the past year. But where do they come from and who makes them? Mick and Miles discuss a possible match with the Israeli arms company Bul Armory which has a handgun that is almost identical in every aspect of design.
Then we move to Israel where a new presenter, Saadia, discusses the fascinating subculture of customization among IDF soldiers when it comes to their rifle slings.
If you’d like to have your questions answered by our panel please support Silah Report on Patreon and submit questions as often as you like!
If you missed the previous episode, you can find it here.
Kalashnikov Stitched Up: Wrapping the AK Platform in Rojava
A phenomenon that has been observed with YPG/YPJ Fighters in recent years has been the practice of wrapping service rifles with fitted fabric. The extent to which rifles have been fitted goes from small pieces that might just cover the magazine or handguard to full-length covers that can sometimes enclose the entire rifle. The reason behind these wraps range from a sort of camouflage to a purely aesthetic venture.
Covering the Dragunov: Fabric Wraps Among the YPG/YPJ
A phenomenon that has been observed with YPG/YPJ Fighters in recent years has been the practice of wrapping service rifles with fitted fabric. The extent to which rifles have been fitted goes from small pieces that might just cover the magazine or handguard to full-length covers that can sometimes enclose the entire rifle. The reason behind these wraps range from a sort of camouflage to a purely aesthetic venture.
Kobani Martyrs Memorial Museum, Syria
The northern Syrian border town of Kobani weighs heavily on the hearts of Kurdish people from northeastern Syria. Hymns, poems, and tales of great bravery and sacrifice all resonate from the brutal urban combat that occurred there between YPG/YPJ fighters and so-called Islamic State forces in 2014, when the Takfiri movement was at its height of power and control. It was the bloody struggle for Kobani that kindled the fire of Kurdish identity that finds itself today still fighting for survival against Turkish and local forces alike.
Silah Report Podcast V14: Pakistani Glocks, Improvised 44 Bore ammunition, Old Rifles in Afrin
What would Glock copies be if there weren’t a KPK-region version? And are these even considered fake or real in the larger Pakistani context? In this episode, Kyber Armoury, Adham, Daniel, Mr. Jenzen-Jones, and Analyst Mick present and take a look at all these topics. We also take questions from Patreon members about such things as radio usage in Syria.
PKK Small Arms Captures: January-March 2019
Some interesting small arms were captured by Turkish forces from the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê or Kurdistan Workers’ Party – PKK, these caches included shoulder-fired recoilless weapons and various self-loading rifles.