Month: June 2016

Iranian directional anti-personnel mines in Syria

Galen Wright During an offensive southwest of Syria’s Aleppo on 17 June 2016, anti-government fighters from Ajnad al-Sham recovered an unknown number of Iranian M18A2 directional anti-personnel landmines. Images of these were posted to the group’s Twitter account the next day. These are only the latest Iranian arms to be captured on this front, underscoring the

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Craft-produced ‘Carlo pistols’ used in Tel Aviv restaurant shooting

ImproGuns Images of the weapons used in the 8 June 2016 attack at the Sarona Market retail and food centre in Tel Aviv, which resulted in the deaths of four people, indicate that they were craft-produced submachine guns. Weapons of this type are locally nicknamed ‘Carlo pistols’ after the Swedish Carl Gustaf m/45, and the

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US Remington XM2010 sniper rifle in Syria

The ARES Team An image shared via Twitter on 17 June shows a member claiming to be affiliated with the New Syrian Army (NSyA) or an allied group operating in Syria’s Aleppo governorate. The combatant in the picture is armed with a US-made Remington XM2010 sniper rifle, adopted by the US Army as the M2010. Previously,

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AK-103 self-loading rifle in Nigeria

The ARES Team Update 29/6/16: The image appears to be lightly distorted, however the steel magazine second from left in the top row, appears to be a Chinese 5.56 x 45 mm magazine. This may further support the possibility the weapon is an AK-101 (adopted in limited numbers elsewhere in Africa), however an AK-103 remains the most likely identification.

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Finnish Jatimatic submachine gun for sale in Iraq via social media

Graeme Rice & N.R. Jenzen-Jones ARES continues to conduct significant data collection and analysis pertaining to the illicit sale of arms and munitions via social media and communications platforms in conflict and post-conflict zones. From time to time, we will be featuring items of interest uncovered during our research, here on The Hoplite. This rare

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South Korean Daewoo K2 Rifle in Nigeria

Jonathan Ferguson A Nigerian newspaper website last week posted an article examining the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’ (NDA) a non-state armed group formed in early 2016 whose stated aims include the establishment of an independent state in the Niger Delta region. The NDA have been very active since their formation, striking a number of blows against oil distribution

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Chinese BEE4 BB/RA 130 mm projectiles in Syria

Yuri Lyamin In 2006, some sources indicated that China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) had developed a new 155 mm HE projectile design which incorporated two auxiliary propulsion techniques – base bleed (BB) and rocket assistance (RA). Shortly after these early reports emerged, it became apparent that Norinco had in fact developed a new family of

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ARES Special Report: Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

The use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWPA) – particularly those weapons with potential wide-area effects – remains of significant concern to military forces, civil society, and other stakeholders. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) commissioned Armament Research Services (ARES) to produce a report examining the technical considerations relevant to the use of explosive weapons in

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