ISIS stole US arms in Syria, Iraq: The Intercept

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Intercept
31 Mar 2023 00:25
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Criminal investigation documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that at least four major thefts had occured in both Iraq and Syria.

SDF and US troops in occupied al-Hasakah, Syria. (Reuters)

The Intercept published on Thursday an investigative report detailing how terror organizations, including ISIS, managed to rob weapons from US occupation forces and use the arms to attack US troops stationed in Iraq and Syria.

According to the report, written by journalist Nick Turse, the systematic looting of US arms is the "latest evidence" of a "persistent problem that has allowed enemy forces from ISIS in Iraq to the Taliban in Afghanistan to arm themselves" and even kill US occupation forces and their proxies at the expense of US taxpayers.

In 2020, an audit conducted by the Pentagon's inspector general found that Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve, the main US occupation unit that operates in Syria and Iraq under the pretext of combatting ISIS, did not account accurately for $715.8 million of equipment purchased for local proxies.

Criminal investigation documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that at least four major thefts had occurred in both Iraq and Syria, including one loss of US equipment between 2020 and 2022, amounting altogether to $200,000.

"These stolen weapons will circulate and intensify political and illicit violence and make it more lethal, as we’ve seen happen in other wars and conflicts," Stephanie Savell, the co-director of the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, told The Intercept.

The report states that the task force in charge of overseeing the US occupation of Iraq and Syria is not even fully aware of the extent of the issue. It adds that it has no record of any thefts from US troops, a spokesperson told the news agency. "[W]e do not have the requested information," Capt. Kevin T. Livingston, CJTF-OIR’s director of public affairs told The Intercept when asked if any weapons, ammunition, or equipment were stolen in the last five years.

According to the investigative documents, between late 2020 and early 2021, "multiple specialized field artillery tools and equipment" were looted from a military truck while being transported to Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq. When the vehicle arrived at its destination, staffers found it was missing gear valued at $87,335. The documents pointed out that "All probative leads were exhausted," noting that no suspects were identified.

In February 2021, 400 armor-piercing rounds and 42 40mm "High-Explosive Dual Purpose" grenades were looted from a Special Forces ammunition supply at Mission Support Site Green Village in northeast Syria. Investigative documents said that "negligent ammunition handling and accountability practices" enabled "unknown person(s) to … pilfer the ammunition," which was valued at $3,624.64.

Again in July or August 2021, "five weapons systems" valued at a total of $48,115 were stolen while being transported via "ground convoy" from US occupation bases in the Conoco to another base called RLZ, Syria. The document further states that the weapons were looted from a shipping container, that no witnesses were on site, nor were there any leads to the theft.

In January 2022, the documents state that robbers broke into a shipping container that was destined for US occupation at Erbil Air Base. Thieves stole an estimated $57,000 worth of unspecified military equipment and personal items.

Four months later, they stole 2,100 full metal jacket rounds that can pierce body armor and three boxes of unspecified "repair parts" from a Blackhawk helicopter which was located at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

A month later, the documents say that Task Force Attack staffers allegedly found 1,680 missing rounds of ammunition. However, nothing is said about the remainder of the stolen items.

Losses amounting to more than $700 million

The Intercept proceeds by detailing that a 2020 inspector general report issued by the Pentagon states that improper accounting has cost more than $700 million in losses for US proxies in Syria, including Kurdish and anti-government forces.

The audit blamed both Special Operations forces and the 1st Theatre Sustainment Command for improper storage and failing to "maintain comprehensive lists of all equipment purchased and received."

Both units "left thousands of … weapons and sensitive equipment items vulnerable to loss or theft." Because of sloppy record keeping and security measures, 1st TSC could not even “determine whether items were lost or stolen."

Although losses of weapons may have been a recurrent issue for the Pentagon, it is unclear if that would be against US interests since arming terror organizations would result in further destabilization in Syrian domestic affairs, Al Mayadeen analysts argue.

The US has for long employed the alleged "ISIS threat" as a pretext to continue its illegal occupation of northeastern Syrian territories, frequently looting oil and gas from Syrian fields and transporting them to other occupation bases in Iraq via illegal crossings.