ISIS Is Producing Weapons Like an Industrial State

Posted: December 22nd, 2016

By Damien Spleeters

Damien Spleeters is an investigator for Conflict Armament Research (CAR). Since July 2014, he has played a key role in CAR's investigations into weapons used by the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria. Since 2015, Spleeters has headed CAR's Iraq operations, running field missions along the IS frontline, from Fallujah and Ramadi, to the ongoing battle for Mosul. He has a background in investigative journalism into the use of weapons in conflict areas (Libya and Syria, 2012-2014).

By James Bevan

James Bevan is a weapon specialist, conflict analyst, and former head of the United Nations Sanctions Monitoring Group on Côte d'Ivoire. In 2011, he left the UN to found Conflict Armament Research, which is a UK-based organization that specializes in tracking the sources of weapons used in armed conflicts. In this role, Bevan has overseen the growth of the organization, which now operates in 23 conflict-affected states worldwide, including regional hotspots such as Libya, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria.

Islamic State (ISIS) has engaged in weapon manufacturing on an industrial scale, with output running into the tens of thousands, according to a new report from Conflict Armament Research (CAR). It operates a highly bureaucratic, centrally controlled manufacturing process, which integrates quality control, inventory management, and production forecasting systems.

A few weeks ago, a CAR field investigation team embedded with Iraqi armed forces during the initial phases of the assault on ISIS forces in eastern Mosul. The team’s objective was to gather, first-hand, all available information on weapons and ammunition recovered from ISIS forces on the battlefield.

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