Keeping It Quiet - A Deeper Dive (2018) Following on from my previous work in 2018, in this post we'll be taking another look at the sale and use of suppressors in the Middle East among non-state groups.
Insurgents in the Mountains: Arms of Baloch Separatists Whilst the various armed conflicts of militant and separatist groups across the Middle East and South East Asia are widely covered in multiple languages, in particular the conflicts in Syria,
Sand in Assad's Eye: ISIS in the Desert Since the greatly publicised downfall of the caliphate in Spring 2019 in Baghuz, Syria, the Islamic State has undergone a no less publicised shift to the "post-caliphate" stage- namely a
The Weaponry of IS West Africa: Raiders in the Sahel (Pt 3) Whilst media outlets and the public at large usually associate the Islamic State with the Middle East and to a lesser extent it's branches in countries such as Afghanistan or Pakistan, one of the main areas of ISIS activity recently is in Africa.
Covert Operations: The Arms of ISIS Insurgents in Syria (2019) Even prior to the destruction of the physical caliphate of the Islamic State in 2019, the group has reverted to a familiar tactic- that of covert guerrilla warfare. These actions
short Night Raiders: Arms of ISIS in Fallujah After the elimination of the Islamic State in Eastern Syria, the group has strived to maintain both a physical and a media presence in many areas across the the world-
Dangerous Developments: The Weaponry of IS West Africa (Pt 2) Analysing the Islamic State in West Africa- an marauding force increasingly armed with capable and modern arms.
short Marxist Insurgents in Afrin: Small arms of TİKKO fighters Since the Turkish Armed Forces and their allies, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) factions, seized the Syrian city of Afrin in March 2018, there's been an ongoing insurgency lead
Idlibi Innovation: Bullpup Kalashnikovs of the Syrian Conflict The Bullpup Kalashnikov conversion is one of the most popular and esoteric firearms to have arisen from the Syrian Conflict. Whilst these guns are applauded and disparaged in almost equal
Calibre Obscura- What's To Come for 2019 & 2018 in Review Back in the late Spring/Early Summer of 2018 I never expected Calibre Obscura to turn into what it is seems to be. In fact, I'm not completely sure when
short The Arms of the Nairobi Attackers Over the 15th-16th of January, the DusitD2 hotel complex in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya, was subjected to a terrorist attack by Al-Shabaab, a jihadist terrorist group based in Somalia. Luckily, the
Resurgent: The Weaponry of IS West Africa On 15th January 2019, ISIS West Africa, also known as IS WA, or Wilyat West Africa, released a new video showing various attacks against the Nigerian Military that occured in
short Guns on the Beach: Saraya al-Quds' Legacy Small Arms Saraya al-Quds is the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad- which is a Palestinian islamist organization with the objective of the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an independent
short The Desert Insurgency: Arms of ISIS in Anbar, Iraq Whilst ISIS no longer controls large amounts of Territory in Iraq, being defeated conventionally by the combination of Iraqi forces (Conventional Army, Special Forces, Popular Mobilisation Units, etc) and airpower,
short Iranian .50 Cal: The AM-50 Sayyad and Its Use in the Middle East The AM-50 Sayyad- meaning Hunter- is commonly seen across the Middle East, particularly where Iran has maintained allies or has supplied arms. However, it does not always appear in the
The Albanian Sniper Squad in Syria and their Weapons Xhemati Alban is a small Sunni jihadi militant group operating in Idlib Governorate/North Aleppo, who are ethnically Albanians, though originating from Kosovo. They have recently released a video on
The Weapons of ISIS in their Last Pocket The "Hajin Pocket" in Southern Deir ez-Zor- the town of Hajin and some of the surrounding areas- is the last remaining area of land that ISIS fully control. Of course,
The Small Arms of ISIS in the North Caucasus Wilayat al-Qawkaz is often underdiscussed and barely mentioned in the western english-speaking press, which is unsurprising, as it's one of the smaller and weaker ISIS "provinces" and hasn't participated in
Interesting Equipment shown in Palestine Islamic Jihad's Recent Rally Writing this by popular request. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a Palestinian terrorist organization with the objective of the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a independent Islamic Palestinian state.
short The Lilac Gloves Gunmen- A Story of Weapons Proliferation In this piece I'll go over the famously amusing "lilac gloves" Irish dissident image(s) and attempt to determine the militant's probable sources of arms, their age and condition. Note:
The Equipment of Taliban "Special Forces" in their 2018 & 2017 Propaganda An important note at the beginning of this piece: The images that are discussed and referred to below are official Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) propaganda images. Hence, assumptions about
Interesting Equipment in Palestine Islamic Jihad and Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades' Recent Propaganda The recent clashes between Israel and armed elements in Gaza have lead to the usual release of various propaganda/martyrdom images. In themselves they are not particularly awe-inspiring, but the
Keeping it Quiet: Suppressor Use by Jihadis, Militants & More Amongst various militant groups in the Middle East there is a sporadic yet noteworthy use of suppressors used on firearms. I've been tracking this and have found that suppressors, also
