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”.
Military/LE
Northern Iraq PKK-Weapon Caches of Operation ‘Claw Tiger’
On 17 June, 2020, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) commenced Operation ‘Claw Tiger’ against the PKK in the so-called Haftanin region. Haftanin is an unofficial region North of Zakho, a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This marks the fourth Turkish incursion into Iraq’s Kurdistan Region since May 2019. As
per usual, TAF personnel confiscated and captured numerous weapons from the PKK. This article will
investigate some of the more noteworthy weapons.
Podcast V26 – Part One: Galal Abdo Hashem – The Shrapnel Collector of Egypt
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 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.
AR15 Rifles from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Based Royal Arms Company
The AR15 or ‘M16’ & ‘M4’ pattern self-loading rifles are a very popular choice in many commercial and military markets the world over, Pakistan is no exception. Some Pakistani law-enforcement and military units utilise varying models of this platform already and a large prevalence of M4 and M16 5.56×45mm rifles of various types and manufacturers have been creeping onto the market slowly in the last few decades or so, none more so than the Colt or FN marked M4A1 and M16A2/A4 rifles seeping through from Afghanistan in the last decade. There is such a high demand for these particular firearms and a low supply and high price for genuine examples that various manufacturers stepped up-to-the plate and have started to manufacture their own copies within the ex-FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, mainly in Peshawar’s small-arms manufacturing zones but also within the infamous arms manufacturing town of Darra Adamkhel.
The FN-49 Rifle in Egyptian Service
The year is 1948. The world has only just begun to recover from the global cataclysm of the Second World War. For many of the western nations just pulling themselves out of the rubble, their largest security concerns were now the Iron Curtain that had descended over Eastern Europe, and the fear of Communism spreading to developing countries. Tensions would soon lead to what would become known as the Cold War, which would shape the second half of the 20th century. While Egypt would not escape these growing global tensions they also had their own local concerns. These included enduring European imperialism, which they had been subjected to since the 1800s, but also the emerging threat of Zionism, embodied by the recently declared Jewish nation of Israel. Against the backdrop of these global and local events, Egypt’s military began to examine a new, modern rifle – the FN-49.
The Iraqi Al-Qadisiyah Sniper Rifle
Perhaps one of the more elusive Dragunov-clones in recent small arms history, the 7.62×54mmR Al-Qadisiyah (or al-Kadesiah – depending on transliteration) precision rifle is one of only two precision rifles that Saddam Hussein’s defense armaments industry al-Kadesiah Establishments produced from the 1980s until 2003 (other being the 7.62×39mm Tabuk Sniper). Named after the 637 A.D. Battle of Al-Qadisiyah in which an advancing Islamic army fought against Persian Sassanian forces in what is now southern Iraq. Iraq’s indigenous small arms took their names after famous battles, commanders or important landmarks.
Examining IS ‘Wilayat Iraq’ video “Strike [Their] Necks” Pt.2
The so-called Islamic State, and their previous organizations Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (Syria), have sustained an insurgency in Iraq for over 16 years. After the collapse of most of its territorial control in 2017, (besides some hideouts in Anbar province) they are again focused on fighting an insurgency campaign. They have been depleted over the years by the efforts of the Iraqi security forces and the International coalition, so much so that in 2019, ISIS conducted only small raids, small scale attacks, assassinations/executions and abductions and IED attacks. This was a far cry from their capabilities circa 2013-16. However, in recent months their attacks in Iraq have increased, especially in the north of the country. Now, IS have released a long propaganda film, in this two-part article, we will examine the film and see what we can learn about their current capabilities and weapons. You can find the first part of this article examining the small arms seen in the video here.
Podcast V24: The State of the Turkish Firearms Industry
In the 24th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we interviewed Mustafa from Turkey, a professional in the Turkish firearm industry, and discussed in-depth the manufacturing of small arms in Turkey, covering a range of weaponry such as handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
The public SoundCloud version below includes the first forty-six minutes of the podcast, our supporters on Patreon can access the entire interview, which is over an hour long. So if you haven’t already please support us in our mission to bring you the best examination of MENA small arms culture we can!
The Demise of Al-Qadisiyah Establishments During the Invasion of Iraq
Roughly six months into Operation Iraqi Freedom, the commander of United States Central Command testified before the U.S. Senate Committee that, “there is more ammunition in Iraq than any place I’ve ever been in my life, and it is all not securable.” So, how can a country with a nearly limitless stockpile of weapons and the indigenous Tabuk production facility also be the birthplace of such arcane rifles? Operation Iraqi Freedom changed the Iraqi black market arms trade forever and, in a matter of two months, turned Tabuk rifles into artifacts only found in history books, obscure sales, and black-market trading.
Examining IS ‘Wilayat Iraq’ video “Strike [Their] Necks” Pt.1
The so-called Islamic State, and their previous organizations Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (Syria), have sustained an insurgency in Iraq for over 16 years. After the collapse of most of its territorial control in 2017, (besides some hideouts in Anbar province) they are again focused on fighting an insurgency campaign. They have been depleted over the years by the efforts of the Iraqi security forces and the International coalition, so much so that in 2019, ISIS conducted only small raids, small scale attacks, assassinations/executions and abductions and IED attacks. This was a far cry from their capabilities circa 2013-16. However, in recent months their attacks in Iraq have increased, especially in the north of the country. Now, IS have released a long propaganda film, in this two-part article, we will examine the film and see what we can learn about their current capabilities and weapons.