Calibre Obscura

The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban exploded the proliferation of weapons captured from the former ANA (Afghan National Army), ANP (Afghan National Police), NDS (National Directorate of Security), and other former government armed formations. The US and its western allies exit from Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of

The Islamic State in East Asia (ISEA) is a branch of ISIS that is unique in many ways, from its weaponry and location of operations, to its membership. ISEA is active in the Philippines and other countries in South East Asia (such as Indonesia), but in this article I will

Over the long period of the Syrian Civil War, one particular weapons system has become the most prominent on the side of opposition and rebel forces. This is the ATGM or the Anti-Tank Guided Missile. However, the topic of ATGM use has been amply covered by multiple writers so I’

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. There's various technical aspects and occurances that I have discovered since my original post, this will attempt to cover them.

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, Iraq and Afghanistan, multiple smaller conflicts are ongoing. One of these is the ongoing efforts of multiple armed groups in

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 wide ranging insurgency in its former areas, as well as a greater focus on exernal affiliates in both media and

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.

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 are taking place over a wide area near the group's original base of power- namely Iraq and Syria. In this

Analysing the Islamic State in West Africa- an marauding force increasingly armed with capable and modern arms.

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 quantities on social media, little is known about their origin, functionality and history. In this post, I will attempt to

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 exactly I decided to write my first post on suppressor use by Insurgents in the Middle East, but it was

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 late 2018, essentially the last two months of that year. These raids occured in Northeastern Nigeria. Whilst this branch of

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 their "sniper squad", although the group as a whole has additional members and are not limited to snipers. It appears

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, this is massively smaller than the peak of the extremist's strength, when the group controlled multiple major cities across Iraq

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. It has, along with Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, taken part in rocket, small arms, and fire balloon attacks against the

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 actual Taliban equipment and capabilities shouldn't be made from these images. The reality on the ground is likely to be

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 weapons that Hamas/Palestine Islamic Jihad and Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades have chosen to show in these images for deaths