Iraq key ‘supplier’ of ISIS weapons — report
AP FILE PHOTO
BAGHDAD, Iraq—Much of the formidable arsenal that has helped turn the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group into the world’s most powerful extremist group comes from Iraq.
In a report published on Tuesday, Amnesty International reviews what weapons have been acquired by the jihadists but also explains how decades of irresponsible arms transfers to Iraq and mismanagement by the Iraqi authorities led to unchecked proliferation.
Here are some of the key figures from the report:
3: Number of conventional army divisions (40,000 to 50,000 solders) ISIS could have equipped with the arms it seized in June 2014 alone
12: Percentage of the world arms market that was directed to Iraq in the 1980s
15: Factor by which Iraq’s military expenditure increased over a decade to reach $9.5 billion last year
25: Minimum number of countries of origin for the weapons and ammunition used by ISIS in Iraq and Syria
28: Number of countries that supplied both Iraq and Iran during the 1980-1988 war
650,000: In tonnes, the amount of unsecured ammunition America’s military estimated was spread across Iraq in September 2003, months after the US-led invasion
1.6 billion: The amount in dollars appropriated last year by the US Congress for a program to support Iraq’s campaign against ISIS
(Sources: Amnesty International research, UN Security Council reports, Armament Research Services, Conflict Armament Research, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.)
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