https://www.dw.com/en/study-shows-how-islamic-state-built-arsenal-in-middle-east/a-55910078
“Study shows how Islamic State built arsenal in Middle East,” by Kersten Knipp, DW, December 11, 2020:
A small phone store buys six tons of aluminum paste. A fertilizer dealer is interested in 78 tons of a food additive. A British company orders motion control software from the United States — but the bill is paid by a luxury car hire company in Turkey.
The organization known as Islamic State assembled the components of its weapons arsenal through transactions like these over years.
IS worked to build up a network of suppliers and technicians that provided he [sic] group with an extensive arsenal of weapons, according to a newly published study by the London-based Conflict Armament Research organization. Thanks to this arsenal, IS was able continuously to expand its areas of control in Iraq and Syria beginning in 2014.
According to the study, the border region in Turkey and Syria was a key hub in this supply chain. IS members, usually using false identities, contacted companies in the area and ordered the necessary components to construct explosives and other weapons. The study’s authors repeatedly stress that the companies accepted the orders without knowing what sort of customer they were dealing with….
The most important indicators included: the appearance of a previously unknown customer whose company was also located in a sensitive region, such as the border area between Turkey and Syria; orders that had little or nothing to do with the company’s core business; payment of the invoice not by the customer but by a third party; transfer methods that concealed the identity of the person transferring the money; and unusual routes for the delivery of the material.
The fact that IS maintained its procurement network on Turkish soil for several years is not surprising, Neumann said. “At the time IS emerged, Ankara was initially just as taken aback by its dynamics as other countries,” he said. “But IS did not attack any Turkish targets, so the government let the jihadists do as they pleased. Turkey didn’t regard IS as its enemy at the time. Also, IS was fighting the Kurds, whom the government in Ankara is also fighting. That was another reason for letting IS do what they wanted. This stance only changed around 2015, when IS was becoming increasingly aggressive and powerful.”…
