In the latest episode of Silah Report Podcast, we spoke about the shocking news of missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries, discussing how this was possible in the first place and which players in the region may be behind it. As well as the types of drones and missiles which may have been used. We also discussed 5.45 x 39mm smalls arms in Iraq and Syria.
Non-State Actors
Belgian FN Herstal F2000 Rifles Captured by Houthi Forces in Yemen
In May 2019, a Belgian news outlet, VRT, reported that the Saudi National Guard were using FN Herstal F2000 bullpup self-loading rifles in Yemen. With ongoing combat between the Arab Coalition and Houthi-aligned forces, it was all but inevitable that some of these exotic-looking polymer-encased weapons would be captured or seized.
The first confirmed sighting of an F2000 in Yemen is believed to date from March 2018, when Houthi forces, fighting in the same border area, were seen recovering an F2000 from a Saudi outpost. The weapon was fitted with the GL1 (also known as the LG1), a under-barrel grenade launcher.
The Last Gunsmiths of The Khyber Pass
Fog clings to a never-ending row of low-rise buildings down the length of a dusty road, it’s early, around eight o’clock on a cool April morning. The fog clears and voices breakthrough and you see the first glimpses of the large bazaar, sounds of shutters slamming open, doors being unlocked and people greeting each other as their day starts. The occasional chatter of gunfire can be heard as firearms are test fired nearby.
Darra Adam Khel. This bustling town is situated in modern-day Pakistan, a stone’s throw from the Pak-Afghan border. What makes it so special? You may ask and the answer lies within the myriad of myths and legends put out over the years.
Egyptian Maadi and Polish Kbk-AKMS Arabic Rear Sight Markings
This article was recently spurred to fruition by the submission of a reader’s photograph taken in the city of Ar-Raqqa, Syria. The subject of the photo features a prominent rear sight base of an AKMS-patterned rifle with Eastern Arabic numerical markings. Important to our discussion is the origin of this particular rifle because one would be led to the conclusion that from the photograph alone, it might be an Egyptian 7.62x39mm Maadi rifle from the rear sight markings. However, our source on the ground informs us (albeit without photographs) that the rifle is in fact of Polish origin with the “Circle 11” marked trunnion. This post will explore the difference in rear markings between Polish export KbK AKM-patterned rifles and Egyptian Maadi rifles, in addition to looking at some of the U.S. reproductions. The importance of comparing these rear sights is that these three varieties are some of the only major categories of Kalashnikov-patterned rifles with rear sight designations in Eastern Arabic numerals. Unlike Western Arabic numerical font stampings, the fluid curvature found in Arabic-based fonts across the world allows for a greater degree of variety and thus gives us easier clues for identification based on rear sight range designations.
Sinai Bedouin Equipped With IMI Makleon
Since the terror attack that occurred on the 24th of November 2017, many Bedouins in Sinai rushed to join the Egyptian Armed Forces’ fight against Sinai Province (ISIS’ branch in Sinai) as a sanctioned militia. Although they do receive armament and supplies from the military, they are already well armed with smuggled weapons that came from Libya, Sudan, and even Israel as seen in this photo!
The Arms Smuggling Hub of Egypt: The South
The southern region of Egypt is known for its green pastures lying on both sides of the Nile River, Abu Simbel Temple which tourists from all over the world travel to see, Lake Nasser that was formed by the Aswan High Dam, Luxor’s Karnak Temple. Valley of the Kings and so many more. Yet, there aren’t many tourists who would venture out and try to deal with the local inhabitants, who have their own unique Egyptian Arabic dialects, own unique traditions, and culture, which separates them from the dwellers of Cairo, Alexandria, and Northern Egypt.
Notes on the Denel PAW-20 in use by Kurdish Forces
Variants of the South African Denel Praetoria Metal Pressings produced “Inkunzi” direct fire 20x42mm Personal Assault Weapon (PAW)-20 have been spotted in use by the Kurdish E.A.H.K Counter Terrorism Unit. This is one of a number of Kurdish Peshmerga units organized along a special operations or strike force concept, some of the others being the Western Kurdistan Special Forces and the Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG).
(Palestinian Yassin RPG) السلاح الفلسطيني قاذف الصواريخ ياسين
This is an article translated into Arabic about the locally produced Yassin RPG in use by Hamas in the Gaza strip. The English version can be accessed here.
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.
التقاصيل
النوع : قاذف صاروخ (ار بي جي) ” ياسين”
المصمم: عدنان الغول
دور السلاح: مضاد للدبابات, تحصينات و الافراد
مكان التصنيع: غزة , فلسطين
فترة الخدمة : 2004- الى الان
الوزن: 7 كيلوجرم – 15 باوند
الطول: 95سم- 37″ انش
العيار: 40مم محرك الصاروخ و 85مم للراس المتفجر
سرعة الفوهة: 295 متر/ث
المدى الفعال: 300 متر
اداة التصويب: مسددات
Silah Report Interviewed by Brent Grayson, Host of Tactical Pay Podcast
Thanks to the host of Tactical Pay, Brent Grayson, Silah Report had the humble opportunity to discuss our research and why we as a team feel it is extremely important to cover the topics that are interesting to us here at SR.
The Podcast can be listened to here on Tactical Pay’s website.
As mentioned on the website, some of the areas of conversation that we covered are listed here-
- How his tours in Afghanistan led him to start the Silah Report.
- What it’s like to be a combat marine in an undergraduate classroom.
- Why Miles chose to study Farsi and Pashto at Indiana University at Bloomington.
- How the Silah Report gets inside scoops on arms trafficking.
….
Furthermore, for those interested in learning more about the countries that make up MENA, the Silah Report offers a region country database. In order to understand the news coming out of those nations, as well as better understand conflicts in those regions, knowledge of the countries is crucial. Miles Vining’s time in the military has had a tremendous impact on him, and informs everything written on the Silah Report.
Essay: Use of the AKS74U “Krinkov” in Iraq and Lebanon
This article has been submitted to SR by a loyal friend and fellow small arms enthusiast in Iraq, discussing some of the proliferation of the AKS74U “Krinkov” within Iraq and Lebanon, in addition to its use in the region.
The AKS74U is often called the little beast in Iraq. Many people spoke about it’s history, action, production, development, etc. But I want to speak about two main topics: First is AK74 in general and AKS-74U within contemporary history in the Middle East. The second topic is AKS74U history and variants in Iraq.
In the Middle East, the AK47 platform had a long history since the 1950s as most of the countries supplied their armies with it either from USSR or other manufacturers (Polish, Bulgarian, Chinese, etc… ) but as I mentioned it was AK47 that was mainly in use until the Syrian conflict in 2011 and the Russian role in 2015 when the AK74 was introduced in significant numbers from the Russian forces and also from some ISIS members who came from Chechen or other former Soviet territories. The version is mostly AK74s with some AKS74Us in very small numbers.
Lebanon had a little history with AKS74U as Mr.Hasaan Nasrallah’s (leader of Lebanese Hezbollah party ) bodyguards use it as their main firearm , there are is some information that Mr.Hasaan Nasrallah sent a couple of hundred of Krinkovs to the Iraqi section of the Hezbollah party after liberating Takrit from ISIS in April 2015 as a gift to Iraqi fighters who showed bravery in the battlefield.
In Iraq, many Krinkovs found their way to the black market either from the Lebanese gift or from smuggling through unknown routes, the main difference among those is that the Lebanese Krinkovs were 1987 and 1988, never fired with 2 spare mags (in most of these cases) but the others were earlier production 1986 and 1985.
After the United States took down Saddam Hussein in 2003, a videotape was leaked showing Saddam’s son, Qusay, shooting Krinkovs with his son, Mustafa. The video is recorded in the late 1990s or early 2000s when I can be sure that it was a special order with other AK74s.
I think the number of Krinks in Iraq is less than one thousand pieces which is not used by the official government military or police forces but used by some politicians and Muslim clerk’s bodyguards. In addition to private individuals who can offer about $4000-5000 to own “The Beast”