This is a list of some of the military equipment formerly and currently used by the Islamic State (IS).[1][2]
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mosin–Nagant | Sniper rifle | Russian Empire | Is rarely seen compared to the Dragunov sniper rifle. Equipped with PU, PE, and modified PSO-1 scopes.[12][13] Was also seen in an execution video. | ||
Dragunov SVD | Designated marksman rifle | 3000+[5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | ||
PSL/FPK[14] | Designated marksman rifle | Socialist Republic of Romania | |||
M40A3[citation needed] | Sniper rifle | United States | |||
M14 EBR (Limited) | Designated marksman rifle | United States | Captured from Iraqi Army.
(8:40 mins)[15] | ||
M99 | Anti-material rifle | [5][unreliable source?] | China |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PKM | General-purpose machine gun | [5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | Most common belt-fed machine gun used. | |
Type 80 | General-purpose machine gun | China | Captured from Syrian Army. | ||
Rheinmetall MG3 | General-purpose machine gun | [16] | West Germany | Possibly captured from the FSA | |
FN Minimi | Light machine gun | Belgium | |||
RPD | Light machine gun | [5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | Mostly seen in parades, unknown number. | |
RPK | Light machine gun | [5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | ||
NSV machine gun | Heavy machine gun | [5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | ||
DShK | Heavy machine gun | [5][unreliable source?] | Soviet Union | ||
W85 | Heavy machine gun | People's Republic of China | Used very commonly. |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benelli M3[citation needed] | Combat shotgun | Italy | Seen on a beheading video. | ||
Franchi SPAS-12[citation needed] | Combat shotgun | Italy |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Glock 17[17] | Semi-automatic pistol | Austria | |||
Glock 19 | Semi-automatic pistol (some converted to full-auto)[18] | Austria | |||
Browning Hi-Power[8] | Semi-automatic pistol | Belgium | |||
Beretta M92[19] | Semi-automatic pistol | Italy | |||
Beretta M1951[20] | Semi-automatic pistol | Italy | |||
Walther P99[21] | Semi-automatic pistol | Germany | |||
Makarov pistol | Semi-automatic pistol | Soviet Union | |||
TT-33 | Semi-automatic pistol | Soviet Union | |||
CZ 75 | Semi-automatic pistol | Czechoslovakia |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ZU-23-2[34] | Towed anti-aircraft twin autocannon | 83 (2015)[31][32] | Soviet Union | Usually mounted on technicals.[31] | |
AZP S-60[33] | Anti-aircraft gun | 21[31][32] | Soviet Union | ||
85 mm divisional gun D-44 | Field gun[31] | 1[31] | Soviet Union | ||
122-mm howitzer D-30[34] | Howitzer | 2[32] | Soviet Union | ||
122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30)[31] | Howitzer | 2[31] | Soviet Union | ||
203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4) | Howitzer | 1+ | Soviet Union | More than one captured in Dayr Hafir. | |
D-74 122 mm field gun[31] | Field gun | 6 (2015)[32] | Soviet Union | ||
M-46[34] | Field gun | 34[31] | Soviet Union | ||
M198 howitzer | Towed howitzer | Up to 5[35] | United States | Captured from Iraqi Army. |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UAZ-469 | Off-road military light utility vehicle | 8[31][32] | Soviet Union | Captured in Iraq. | |
Ural-4320 | 6×6 off-road military truck | 50+[36][37] | Soviet Union | Captured from Syrian Army. | |
HMMWV | Military light utility vehicle | ≈2,300 (2015) [38][39][40][41] | United States | Many captured from Iraqi Army. Main vehicle used by IS in SVBIED operations.
Most of them were taken back by the Iraqi army since IS defeat. Some of them were destroyed while the damaged ones were refurbished and made operational again. (4:15 mins) [42] | |
Technicals | Improvised fighting vehicles | Varies from hundreds to thousands. | Islamic State | Hundreds of variants exist, including SVBIED versions. | |
RG-31 Nyala[citation needed] | Infantry mobility vehicle | South Africa | Seen in Libya. | ||
Safir[citation needed] | Off-road military light utility vehicle | Iran | Captured from Hezbollah. |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BMP-1 | Amphibious Infantry fighting vehicle | 25[31] | Soviet Union | Captured from the armies of Iraq, Syria, and other factions such as SDF and FSA. Some converted to SVBIED. | |
Leopard 2A4 | Main battle tank | At least 2 | West Germany | Captured from Turkey in the Battle of al-Bab during Euphrates Shield; Amaq News Agency posted video of captured 2A4s.[43] | |
M1A1 | Main battle tank | At least 10 | United States | captured from Iraqi Army during their retreat in the Battle of Ramadi (2014–2015).[44] | |
Eagle | Main battle tank | None, all destroyed or captured. | Nigeria | Captured from the Nigerian Army by Boko Haram. | |
MT-LB[45] |
Amphibious Armoured personnel carrier | unknown[32] | Soviet Union | ||
BPM-97 | Armoured personnel carrier | 1+[36][37] | Russia | Captured from Syrian Army. | |
BRDM-2[31] | Amphibious Scout car | 6[31] | Soviet Union | Possibly captured by the Libyan army. | |
MRAP | Infantry mobility vehicle | 13[34] | United States | Captured from the Iraqi Army and Police. | |
M113 APC | Armoured personnel carrier | 52[32] | United States | Captured from the Iraqi[46] and the Egyptian Army. Some converted to SVBIED. | |
Mowag Piranha[47][48] | Armoured personnel carrier | At least 2 | Switzerland | Operated by Boko Haram, probably captured from the Nigerian Army. | |
Saurer 4K 4FA[49] | Armoured personnel carrier | Austria | Operated by Boko Haram, probably captured from the Nigerian Army. | ||
Panhard AML-60[50] | Armored car | France | Operated by Boko Haram, probably captured from the Nigerian Army. | ||
VBL[51] | Scout car | France | Operated by Boko Haram, probably captured from the Nigerian army. | ||
T-55/55MV/AM/AMV | Main battle tank | At least 82 (2015)[31][32][52] | Soviet Union | Captured from the Iraqi Army, Syrian Army and Libyan militias.[5] Many destroyed or captured. Some converted to SVBIED. | |
T-62 Obr. 1967/Obr. 1972 | Main battle tank | 15 (2015)[31] | Soviet Union | Possibly captured from Syrian Army, one destroyed near Kobani, another with reinforced turret knocked out near Ma'adan. | |
T-72/72M/A/AV /TURMS-T/M1 TURMS-T | Main battle tank | 22 (2015)[31][32] | Soviet Union | Possibly captured from the Syrian Army. |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2S1 Gvozdika | Self-propelled artillery | 3-4[31][34] | Soviet Union | Captured from Syrian army. | |
ZSU-23-4 Shilka[33] | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | 3[31] | Soviet Union | Captured from Syrian army. | |
BM-21 Grad[34] | Multiple rocket launcher | 11[31] | Soviet Union | Captured from Syrian army. |
Name | Type | Quantity | Origin | Photo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
L-39ZA | Jet trainer/Ground-attack aircraft | 3 (2 operational, as of 2014)[53] | Czechoslovakia | Originally four. Captured by Jaysh al-Islam at the Jirah airfield on 12 February 2013. One was subsequently destroyed during a SAAF bombing.[54] Two were repaired to airworthiness and shown taxiing during a propaganda video released by Jaysh al-Islam.[55] Project abandoned upon the airfield's capture by ISIL.[56] | |
MiG-21 | Interceptor aircraft | 7 (unknown amount operational, as of 2014)[57] | Soviet Union | Captured at the Jirah airfield on 30 August 2012. Flown by ex Iraqi pilots and were operated from the Jirah airfield.[58][57] | |
Commercial civilian drones | Unmanned aerial vehicle | Many[59][60][61][62][63] | Iran | Some were captured from the Syrian Army and Iran. ISIL demonstrated the use of a reconnaissance drone in "Clanking of the Swords IV" (June 2014) and in October 2014 over Kobanî in the John Cantlie video and the Tabqah Air Base video. The three drones in Syria were shot down over Kobanî by Kurdish forces defending the city,[64][65] and by the Syrian Army over an airbase.[63] | |
Improvised bombing and surveillance drones (mostly quadcopters)[66] | Unmanned aerial vehicle | 80+[66] | Islamic State | Large numbers of originally civilian drones are used by ISIL, often heavily adapted to be used for bomb attacks, spy missions, propaganda, etc. These drones are mostly controlled by the Al Bara’ bin Malik Brigade, part of the aviation sector of the Islamic State’s Committee for Military Manufacturing and Development.[66] |
ISIL has been using a mix of watercraft to transport fighters around the Tigris River and Euphrates River and has been referred to as their unofficial riverine navy.[67] US forces have come across small watercraft that can ply rivers to carry troops, equipment and in some cases act as floating IEDs.[67]
IS has an indigenous weapons industry. Their workshops can produce identical copies of the RPG-7 and SPG-9. In addition, they have developed an indigenous rocket launcher, which comes in four varieties. Two variants fire PG-9 munitions at short and long range. A third fires PG-7V munitions and the fourth fires an unspecified thermobaric munition. They also produce grenades to be fired from the muzzle of an AK pattern rifle or dropped from a drone. They also produce mortar ammunition and rockets.[68]