Whenever you think of female warriors in the Middle East, the very first thing that crosses the Western mind is the YPJ (Women’s Protection Units), an all-female Kurdish militia that fights with other Kurdish militias such as the YPG (People’s Protection Units). Of course, with the war raging against ISIS, and the terrible atrocities committed against women, the global media fixated their spotlights on the female warriors who fought tooth and nail against a patriarchal, barbaric and medieval-minded opponent.
Within modern Arab history we have examples where women carried arms and fought as well.
بسبب الحروب العربية الاسرائيلية, اهتم الجناح العسكري لمنظمة “حماس” الا وهي “الوية عز الدين القسام” , بالتصنيع العسكري حتى تحصل على اكتفاء ذاتي لتقلل فعالية و تاثير الحظر الاقتصادي التي تفرضها اسرائيل على “غزة” من حين لاخر.
هذه المقالة تسلط الاضواء على احد الصناعات العسكرية المثيرة للانتباه وهي صناعة قواذف الصواريخ من نوع “ياسين” في غزة في منشئات انتاجية تحت الارض حتى لا يتم استهدافها من قبل سلاح الطياران و المدافع الاسرائيلية. هذا القاذف تم تصميمه و تصنيعه من قبل “حماس” و يتم توزيعه الى حركات مقاومة اخرى من ضمنها “فتح” و “الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين”.
تاريخ السلاح
يحمل القاذف اسم القائد الروحي و مؤسس حركة حماس الشيخ “احمد ياسين” الذي اغتيل عن طريق صاروخ من نوع “هيل فاير” من هيليكوبتر اسرائيلية نوع “اباتشي” في الثاني و العشرين من مارس سنة 2004 وهو في عمر السابعة والستون.
مصمم السلاح هو المهندس “عدنان الغول” والذي قتل ايضا في نفس السنة في الواحد وعشرون من شهر اكتوبر عن طريق غارة جوية اسرائيلية.
موصافات السلاح
تصميم القاذف “ياسين” فريد من نوعه ولكن يشبه كثيرا القاذف الروسي القديم “ار بي جي-2” مع بعض مواصفات القاذف الاحدث “ار بي جي-7”. اخذ السلاح تصميم الانبوب و شكل الخارجي للصاروخ من “ار بي جي-2” وايضا محرك الصاروخ , وتعتبر تصاميمها بسيطة للغاية ولكن لتحسين الاداء اضافوا تصميم “ار بي جي-7” للفوهة الخلفية التي تعكس الارتداد عند اطلاق الصاروخ. واضافوا ايضا معزز صاروخي للذخيرة لزيادة مدى السلاح و طوروا من الشكل الداخلي للراس المتفجر للصاروخ.
مع انه يتم تصنيع السلاح في ورش تحت الارض باستخدام ادوات عادية وفي متناول المدنيين , ولكن تصميم وابتاكر “الياسين” وجودة التصنيع يدل على مستوى عالي من الاحترافية و التطور مع ان تصميم السلاح يتعبر من ناحية التقنية بسيط للغاية.
ياسين” في ساحة القتال”
يعتبر السلاح غير فعال ضد المركبات المدرعة لان اسرائيل في تطوير دائم و تحسين لها , ولكن “كتائب صلاح الدين” و يعتبر الذراع العسكري لمنظمة “اللجنة الشعبية للمقاومة في غزة” زعموا تدمير دبابة اسرائيلية من نوع “ميركافا مارك 3” عن طريق استهداف نقطة ضعف فيها.
مع ذلك, يعتبر السلاح فعال ضد الحصون المصنوعة من طوب و الاهداف التي تمتلك تدريع خفيف كسيارات “الهامفي” الاسرائيلية لانها تستطيع اختراق فولاذ بسماكة 21سم على بعد 150 متر.
Silah Report took some time to ask a native Afghan from the province of Mazar-i-Sharif to talk about various colloquial names that Afghans have for popular small arms in use by the Mujahideen and in the modern era. This interview is not verbatim and has been edited for clarification.
SR- Please explain the Dragunov?
Interviewee- So the Russian name Dragunov actually isn’t used in Dari, or in Afghanistan. Instead, we call it “Draz-nuf” (درازنف) In this case, “Draz” (دراز) Dari means long or lengthy, and that name is given to that rifle due to its overall length being longer than most small arms such the Kalashnikov, Krinkov, and Shinkov. That’s why they call it “Draz-nuf”, the “Draz” for “Lengthy” or “Long”. Likewise, with names like Krinkov, or Shinkov, these are names given to various small arms by the Mujahideen in the Soviet War. They don’t represent the actual Russian name for them.
SR- Was the “Draz-nuf”/Dragunov a special rifle among those who used it? Only choose Mujahids would use it?
Interviewee- I think so because they used it as a sniper rifle due to the optics that came with it. You can focus your target very well and then shoot it. That’s what I have seen in movies as well. But it isn’t as expensive or as sought after as the Krinkov as far as I know. Carrying a Krinkov is sort of a show-off, something a Captain, a commander, would do. Everyone would talk about how “That guy was carrying a Krinkov, or his bodyguards carry a Krinkov”. But that status symbol isn’t the same with the “Draz-nof”.
SR- What are some other names? Such as PKah, Makarov, etc…?
Interviewee- Yes, PKah, they call it by another name of “Grin-nuf”.
SR- What about the RPG?
Interviewee- This is sometimes called a “Rockeet” (راکت) or “Rockeet-Tandaz” (راکت تندز) This is because “Rockeet” is obviously the missile that is fired out of that barrel, and “Andakhtan” is the Dari verb “To Throw” (انداختن) so “Rockeet-Tandoz” is an instrument that is used to throw a “Rockeet”.
SR- What about the .303 Lee Enfield?
Interviewee- We call these “See-Sahd-See-Bor” ( سه صد سه بور) See-Sahd-See means three hundred and three in Dari, meaning the caliber .303, and “Bor” for the diameter of the barrel. I’ve seen these rifles in old people’s houses and people would say “My grandfather carried this”. And “Karabine”, is another kind of gun, but it isn’t a rifle, it is shorter, shooting single rounds instead of automatic fire. We also have “Dushka” for the DShK Heavy Machine Gun.
Afghan fighters hide during Soviet bombardment, Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, 1981
Ian from Forgotten Weapons has put together an interesting overview of the 12.7mm Zagros And 14.5mm Sahar Anti-Material Rifles in use by the Kurdish Peshmerga. These improvised rifles are making quite the headway in the current Syrian civil war, due to the prevelance of VBIEDs and the complexity of fighting in urban settings.
Among the latest small arms displayed at the recent Independence Day Parade were DI Optical USA DCL-120 reflex sights mounted to .50 BMG M2 Heavy Machine Guns. Currently, it isn’t known what type of mount is clamped to the receiver of the machine guns. But it certainly appears to be a Picatinny rail that allows the DCL-120 to be mounted to it.
Some of the M2 machine guns didn’t have the optics mounted on them.
From the manufacturer website-
Optical Data
System
Reflex, Collimator System
Magnification
No Magnification (1X)
Eye Relief
Unlimited
Red Dot Size
3 MOA Dot / 40 MOA Circle
Field of View (FOV)
96 m @ 200m
Objective Lens
120 × 70 mm
Optical Coating
Anti Reflex Coating All Surfaces, Multi-layer Coating for Reflection of Red Light
Electronic Data
Battery
Two CR 123A 3V Lithium Battery, or External Power Source : 10~28V (Option)
Due to the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine, Hamas with its military wing al-Qassam brigades has developed their own tools of war in order to preserve self-sufficiency in order to not be affected by the blockade made on Gaza strip.
This article will spotlight on one of the more interesting craft produced rocket launchers in Gaza , which is literally underground since their production facilities are protected in underground bunkers from IDF air raids and artillery strikes.
It is designed and manufactured by Hamas, but they distribute the launchers to other resistance troops working in Gaza, including Fatah and the PFLP (Popular Front for Liberating Palestine).
History
The weapon is named after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and the spiritual leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Hellfire missiles shot from an Israeli AH-64 Apache Helicopter gunship on March 22, 2004, at the age of 67.
The Yassin RPG is a unique design that resembles the RPG-2 combined with RPG-7 with some improvised design features, From RPG-2 it took the launching tube design and the warhead external shape and the rocket motor which are very simple, but to improve the performance they added some features from the RPG-7 such as the nozzle at the launcher’s rear to deflect recoil generated by launching the rocket, they also added a rocket booster to be attached to the propelled grenade to extend it’s range, and the internal shaped charge of the warhead is enhanced as well.
The manufacturing process occurs in underground workshops using ordinary shop tools, but the conception and engineering of the weapon seem to have a high degree of sophistication and professionalism given the lack of technology of the design.
In Action According to the continuous improvements of armor in Israeli armored vehicles, the RPG is believed to be not effective against them. However, Saladin brigades (the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee in Gaza) claimed to destroy a Merkava Mk.3 MBT by targeting a weak point of the tank. Yet, the weapon is very effective against brick fortifications and soft-skinned armor as it can penetrate a 21 cm steel plate from 150 meters.
Specifications
Model : Yassin RPG
Designer : Adnan al-Ghoul
Type : Anti-Tank, Anti-Personnel
Place of Origin : Gaza, Palestine
Manufacturer: al-Qassam brigades, R&D unit
In Service: 2004 – Current
Weight : 7 kg (15 lbs)
Length : 95 cm (37″)
Caliber: 40 mm rocket engine ; 85 mm warhead
Muzzle velocity: 295 m/s
Effective range: 300 m
Sights: Iron sights
Differences between RPG-2 (top) and RPG-7 (bottom)Yassin RPG featuring the combination of RPG-2 and RPG-7
The Russian defense export company Rosoboronexport has recently announced within a larger agreement that the Saudi Arabian state owned Military Industries Corporation will soon be manufacturing 7.62x39mm AK-103 rifles in the Kingdom, along with ammunition. Saudi Arabian armed forces are already using the AK-103, along with the 5.56x45mm NATO G36K within the National Guard, but these are mostly imported from Russia itself. G36Ks have already been seeing local production for some time, many of which are ending up on arms markets in Yemen on the side of the Houthis. One of the main reasons for this move is possibly due to the cheaper cost of producing the rifles rather than buying them outright.
From the news report on Arab News-
Russia’s Rosoboronexport said it has struck an initial licensing agreement that could lead to the Kalashnikov being made in the Kingdom.
The agreement covers the “production of Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles and cartridges for various purposes,” a statement said.
A memorandum of understanding between the two sides could also see Russia supply Saudi Arabia with Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems, rocket launchers and automatic grenade launchers.
The preliminary deal also involves the transfer of knowledge in the defense field to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has set a target for half of its significant defense budget to be spent within the country.
This plan now includes the “localization” of the AK-103 assault rifle and its ammunition, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Mirwais Afghan published this on his Twitter feed earlier, of the Taliban deputy district chief for the Chaperhar district of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He was recently killed by a U.S. airstrike. His AKM features a Trijicon RCO with what appears to be directly mounted to the receiver cover of the rifle, possibly via a rudimentary method of welding or otherwise non-standard mounting procedure.
Of course, if this is the case, accuracy will most likely suffer greatly because of the severe vibrations of the receiver cover during the course of fire. Maintaining zero will be next to impossible. But was a status piece for a deputy district chief, it will certainly get the point across.
Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan has recently posted news releases on their website concerning military exercises of high-ranking officers.
Particularly, battalion commanders of mechanized infantry, paratrooper and marine regiments took part in mentioned exercises. The purpose of that event was to upgrade the qualification of the officers by a number of tactical and strategic classes, defensive and offensive scenario studies, as well as familiarization with new weapon systems.
During these exercises, the officers were carrying AK-74 assault rifles, which had some interesting upgrades and mods on them. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
The railed dust cover, handguard and gas tube cover are most likely made by Russian company Zenit. The dust cover is Zenit B-33 (Зенит Б-33), the handguard is a Zenit B-10M (Б-10М) and the railed gas tube cover is a Zenit B-19 (Б-19). Here is a picture of all three accessories:
The stock adapter is probably made by Israeli company FAB Defense. It is the model M4-AK P or a similar one. Some of these stock adapters differ only by the material, which is almost impossible to distinguish by only a visual reference. In any case, it is a conversion stock which allows mounting AR-15/ M-4 rifle stocks on the AK platform. It also has a built-in side folding mechanism. Here is the image of M4-AK P model:
The buttstock itself is also made by FAB Defense and it is their GLR-16 CP model with an adjustable cheek riser.
The angled foregrip mounted on the handguard has the distinct shape of another FAB Defense product – PTK.
The scope is unidentified, but it is presumably a Russian made one. It is a night vision or thermal scope judging from the looks. Possibly, it is a newer version of NSPU scope. We’ll update this post as soon as we find out the exact model of the scope.
Similar exercises of squad leaders were held too and it is interesting to note that squad leaders were equipped with AK-74 rifles in stock configuration. Judging from that, the upgrades for AK-74s are available for high ranking officers only. Here is a picture of squad leader sergeants firing their AK-74s:
FYI: here is the small arms’ list of Armed Forces of Kazakhstan (from Wikipedia):
Small Arms
9×18mm Makarov PM Standard issue pistol for armed forces.
9×18mm PP-90M1 Submachine gun, used by special forces.
5.45×39mm AK-74 Standard issue rifle of Kazakh military.
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.
Within modern Arab history we have examples where women carried arms and fought as well. 
