Historical

A Legal History Civilian Firearms Ownership in Iraq

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The earliest Iraqi gun act was enacted in 1919 under the British mandate. Although the original text of this act cannot be found two amendments exist for this act. The first amendment for this act was ratified in 1932. It defined the licensing fees for firearms possession, repairing and selling licenses. The fees were 0.375 … Read more

A Modified M3 ‘Grease Gun’ Submachine Gun

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The M3 and M3A1 are a straight blowback submachine gun designs, chambered in the U.S. military’s then standard issue pistol round – .45 ACP cartridge, and designed in the USA. The M3 was first adopted by the U.S. military in a limited capacity in early 1943, eventually supplanting the M1 and M1A1 Thompson submachine guns. Fascinatingly, a significant number have also been seen in the Pak-Afghan Region.

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A Sterling Submachine Gun Found In Darra

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The Sterling submachine gun is a well renowned submachine gun of British design by George William Patchett – the head arms designer at Sterling Armaments Company in Dagenham, England, UK. The weapon is a select-fire, blowback operated submachine gun, utilising advanced primer ignition design and is chambered in the widely used 9×19mm cartridge. It is fondly remembered as a very reliable and rugged platform to this day by its users. It was initially adopted by the UK armed forces starting around 1953 replacing the earlier and more infamous STEN submachine gun and ended up being removed from active service in around 1994, replaced by the 5.56×45mm SA80 self-loading rifle. This platform of SMG has been used by a wide variety of countries across the globe and has also been manufactured by the UK, Canada, India and also Chile.

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The American ‘Tommy Gun’ In The Pak-Afghan Region

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The Thompson models 1928, 1928A1, M1 and M1A1 submachine guns, famously also nicknamed the ‘Tommy Gun’, are a heavy weight milled all-steel submachine gun design, chambered in the U.S. military’s then standard issue pistol round – the .45 ACP cartridge, and designed in the USA in the wake of World War One. They were first adopted by the U.S. military in a widely used capacity during the World War Two, eventually being supplanted by the cheaper and simpler M3 and M3A1 ‘Grease-Gun’ submachine guns. A small but significant number have also been seen in the Pak-Afghan Region.

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Hekmatyar’s AK

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Recently, a colleague from Afghan Eye, an independent media organisation covering Afghanistan, shared with us a video uploaded by a Twitter user which purportedly showed an Afghan elder of some renown handling and firing an AK-pattern rifle. The man in question was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

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The Baghdad (Simonov-Iraqi): Iraq’s First Mass-Produced Service Rifle?

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In a video for TFBtv Miles tackles the mysterious ‘Baghdad’ 7.62×39mm chambered self-loading rifle – the Rasheed derivative of unclear origins that appears to have been produced from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Our understanding of the ‘Baghdad Rifle’ is still evolving.

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Project: Qasd Al-Sabeel – Recovering Munitions In Gaza

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In 2020 Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, revealed for the first time that part of the efforts it is making to develop its military capabilities to face the plans to disarm the Palestinian armed factions along with the blockade of weapons and ammunition into Gaza Strip include salvaging unexploded Israeli munitions and scouring the wrecks of a pair of World War One warships.

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The American ‘Grease-Gun’ In The Pak-Afghan Region

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The M3 and M3A1, famously also nicknamed the ‘Grease Gun’ due to their appearance, are a straight blowback submachine gun design, chambered in the U.S. military’s then standard issue pistol round – .45 ACP cartridge, and designed in the USA. The M3 was first adopted by the U.S. military in a limited capacity in early 1943, eventually supplanting the M1 and M1A1 Thompson submachine guns. Fascinatingly, a significant number have also been seen in the Pak-Afghan Region.

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The Furniture of the Middle East

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Throughout the MENA region, we see the private sale of firearms online but they often get in the way of the more interesting things in the photographs – the furniture! In this article, we will examine some of the vibrant and varied furniture spotted in numerous Middle-Eastern countries, written as a joint project by several Silah Report contributors.

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