ISIS Secures US-Made Weapons, Ships Tanks to Syria Front

Officials: Probable ISIS Has Stinger Missiles

Creating and equipping a brand new Iraqi military wholecloth was no problem for the US. It was a win-win, a chance to train up a new “ally” and ship massive amounts of US arms-makers equipment abroad.

It’s looking less wise now, as the Iraqi soldiers drop their US gear and run, and the advancing Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the same group that used to be al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during the US occupation, is finding itself in possession of a lot of shiny new US military exports.

Indeed, ISIS has secured so many US-made vehicles that they don’t even need them all on the Iraq side of their new Islamic state, and reports say they are sending a number of US-made tanks, trucks and Humvees into Syria, to be used by ISIS fighters on the Syrian front.

Perhaps even more dangerous, US officials say it is “probable” that US-made anti-aircraft missiles are now in ISIS hands, meaning all air traffic in the region is in serious danger.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.