Welcome to the 28th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we recently had the pleasure of speaking with Noori, an artisan who runs a business of handcrafting decorations on firearms in Iraq. We have covered Noori’s interesting work in past articles here at Silah Report. To say that the quality of his artwork is incredibly professional and its quality is extremely beautiful would be an understatement. In our interview with him, we enquired in-depth abut Iraqi gun culture, his background, how he entered the field, his business in a war-torn country, the challenges he faced and what does think the future holds for him.
MENA
Overview of Turkey’s Assortment of AR-Pattern Rifles
As covered in an earlier Silah Report article, over 65,000 5.56 x 45mm rifles have been delivered to Turkish security forces, according to the head of Turkey’s Presidential Defense Industry, İsmail Demir. With 65,000 rifles being a substantial number of AR-15 patterned rifles, it is fair to infer that this trend will continue and succeed the primary platforms currently in Turkish service like the license-built MKE HK33s and G3A3s. In this article we will examine some of the most prominently used AR-15 patterned rifles currently in use with Turkey’s police and armed forces.
Podcast V26 – Part Three: Galal Abdo Hashem – Defiance, Victory and the Dream
In our journey to uncover wartime stories from all sides during the Arab-Israeli Conflict, we managed to meet Galal Abdo Hashem, an Egyptian living in his home city of Ismalia, a city that has witnessed the horrors of war more than once during the 20th century. Galal Abdo Hashem is not a war veteran with military training, in fact, he never fired a single shot towards his enemies, but he decided to do something instead that gained him notoriety and his name written on Egypt’s Honor List. To this day he gives lectures, speaks with journalists, and appears on TV shows to speak about his experience and journey during a time when Egypt was at war with Israel. This article is the story of one of Egypt’s civilians who, despite taking up arms to defend his homeland, decided there was another way to contribute to the war effort – art.
Syrian Civil War Crest Symbology: Comparative Conclusion
In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first three parts of this series here, here and here. In this fourth and final part, we will make a comparative overview of all the political affiliations fighting previously focused on throughout the previous posts.
Pen Guns of Kabul
In recent weeks we’ve seen a large number of media reports stemming from an AFP report which was picked up by numerous outlets reporting on pen guns confiscated in Kabul. The clandestine nature of the pen guns no doubt amplifying international interest. AFP or Agence France-Presse is an international news agency and the story was picked up by news outlets around the world including the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. A cache of some 48 pen guns was discovered during Afghan National Police operations.
Origins: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Clear Frame Glock Pistols
The Glock line of rugged and reliable polymer-framed, self-loading pistols have become a staple of the firearms market and community – military and law-enforcement alike – worldwide. Still, features pop up that can’t be attributed to Glock and this is true for these mystery clear-frame Glock pistols which have become available on the Pakistani market in recent years. Who makes these clear frame Glock copies though? Where did they come from? What is the purpose? Do they even work? All these questions and more have been asked by people the world over. To understand why and how these came to be, we must first look deeper.
Ayalon Institute: Israel’s Early Clandestine Attempts to Manufacture Ammunition
Israel’s fight for independence after the Second World War is filled with spectacular and courageous exploits as well as daring moves to thwart both the British government in Palestine and the subsequent Arab advances. One such story is that of the “Ayalon Institute” on Kibbutz Hill outside of the town of Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv. It was here that for several years after the Second World War, several million rounds of 9×19mm ammunition were produced for the Haganah under the supervision of Ta’as. A military industry wing that would later morph into Israeli Military Industries (IMI) after independence.
Syrian Civil War Small Arms Symbology: Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava
In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first part of this series here and the second part here, the Opposition and Regime respectively.
The Work of Iraqi Firearms Engraver Noori Sabeh
Noori Sabeh (نوري النقاش) is a professional engraver from Iraq who has made a presence on social media with some excellent engraving work, considering his lack of access to materials and tools otherwise very prevalent in Europe and North America. The majority of his work is focused on traditional wood and metal engraving of various bolt action rifles, shotguns, and handguns that customers send in. He originally started out in the jewellery business and has been engraving for several decades.
Podcast V27: Gunning in Kurdistan, Kobra Tactical Training
Welcome to the 27th episode of the Silah Report Podcast! We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Hamed, a Kurdish firearm instructor and contractor situated in Erbil. We discussed with him his history as a Kurdish contractor, the environment in Erbil for private security contractors and his project, Kobra Tactical. Through his project, he aims to give Kurdish security forces and shooters a chance to further their small arms marksmanship. He also explained to us the “cultural mindset” of many Kurds and their “resistance to modernization/adoption of better combat tactics”.