B. Khab. with Galen Wright Since early 2016, Yemeni forces belonging to the Aden-based Hadi government have been fighting Houthi militants and other forces loyal to ex-President Saleh in Hajja governorate, one of the few positions in northern Yemen controlled by the Aden-based government. The strategic Midi district has witnessed the fiercest battles ther, and
ImproGuns A video posted to social media on 25 November 2016 shows Shi’a militia fighters making use of what appears to be an improvised grenade launching device attached to the muzzle of a DShKM type heavy machine gun (HMG) whilst engaging Islamic State militants near Deir ez-Zor airport in Syria. The device appears to be a
Miles Vining Editor’s note: We are pleased to welcome Miles Vining as a contributing author on The Hoplite. Miles is a former US Marine Corps infantryman who now researches and writes on small arms and tactical equipment. This is the first part of a series examining the arms and equipment employed by the Iraqi Special Operations
Yuri Lyamin The ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq has given rise to a wide range of different modifications of military equipment, especially the mounting of automatic guns, including heavy machine guns and cannon, on a variety of different chassis. One of the most popular systems this role is the Soviet-era 57 mm anti-aircraft gun
Miles Vining Recent photographs shared via social media have shown members of Kurdish Peshmerga and personal security detachments within the Iraqi Special Operations Force 1 Brigade (ISOF 1) carrying the 7.5″ PDW-CCS self-loading rifle produced by North Eastern Arms (NEA) of Ontario, Canada. The rifles in question are also pictured outfitted with NEA’s “Mini Can”
Matthew Sibley Between 16 and 23 August 2016 the People’s Protection Unit (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel; YPG) and Syrian government security forces (National Defence Force and Syrian Armed Forces) fought for control of the city of Al-Hasakah in North-east Syria. It ended with a ceasefire, mediated by Russia, and resulted in the Kurdish forces taking control
ImproGuns Images shared via social media purport to show new “silent weapons for special forces of the [Donetsk People’s] Republic”. Information accompanying the images claims they are manufactured locally by DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) separatist forces in Donbass. One of the weapons, dubbed ‘Deaf-mute Aunt Tanya from Donbas’, appears to be a modified Russian TT-33 type self-loading pistol which has
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Images shared on social media show a handful of watercraft associated with the Al-Bonyan Al-Marsous operations, operating out of Misrata, Libya. The force includes at least two tugs, the Assameeda, based out of Misrata, and the Almergheb, based out of Tripoli. These vessels have formerly been associated with the Libyan Coast Guard. The tugs are equipped with a range of weapon
Ilya A. On 5 August 2016, anti-government forces from the Free Syrian Army and the Islamist coalition Jaish al-Fateh stormed and captured a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) artillery school facility during operations aimed at breaking the Syrian regime siege of Eastern Aleppo. The following day, rebel group Ahrar al-Sham posted photos of materiel in the
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. In late July, ARES recorded
