The first peshmerga units were established in the 1920s, when the Kurdish independence movement was born. In the 1991, in the months following the Gulf War, the peshmerga were the protagonists of a revolt against Saddam Hussein, which led to the establishment of the autonomous Kurdish Republic within the Iraqi state.
Between the 1995 and the 1998 were engaged in the so-called Kurdish civil war, fought precisely between the peshmerga and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).
They are mostly veterans of fighting against Iraqi government forces and clashes between Kurdish factions. The female regiment consists of four battalions and a commander for each brigade. Over time this army has equipped itself with various individual weapons. Among these the AK-47 Kalashnikov, the Russian AKM rifle, the American assault rifle M4A1 together with the M16A4, the Iraqi Tabuk rifle (assembled in the Al-Qadissiya Establishments) and finally the Russian precision rifle Dragunov.
Anti-aircraft stands out the Pantsyr-S1, whose export cost is 14.6 million dollars. Added to this are the Russian rocket launcher 107 mm BM-21 Grad and the Chinese 122 mm Type-63.
The helicopter fleet does not exceed the 30 units: among these the Mil Mi-17, Mil Mi-8, Sikorsky S-333 and Eurocopter EC-120. The precipitate of the situation has, however, led some European States to supply weapons to the Kurds-peshmerga for greater support and protection.
Italian Defense Minister Pinotti sent to the Peshmerga 500 machine guns MG 42 / 59, 100 12.7 machine guns, 250mila ammunition for each of the two types of weapons (national material), 1.000 rockets rpg7, 1.000 rockets rpg9 and 400mila ammunition for Soviet-manufactured machine guns . There is talk of financial coverage of around 1,9 million.
The Browning M2 12,7 mm heavy machine gun nicknamed "Ma Deuce" by the military who use it is a heavy weapon. In the 1932 the original project was made small changes such as the barrel hole to improve the cooling of the same that led to the redefinition of the weapon as M2.
The machine gun Beretta MG 42 / 59 instead is an Italian variant of the MG3 of the Bundeswehr, in turn a recalibrated copy of the MG 42 of the German of the Second World War. The weapon, produced under license by Beretta, with parts produced by Whitehead Motofides and Franchi, is called MG 42 / 59 from the year of its introduction into service, the 1959.
We come to rockets: the RPG-7 has been used extensively since the 60 years onwards, and many countries have made copies of it. The RPG, which in Russian literally means "raketny prototitankovy granatomet" (rocket anti-tank grenade), has exactly the same definition even with English words (Rocket propelled grenade), and is a different weapon from the Bazooka. The range against stationary targets is nominally 500 meters, 400 against moving vehicles. The maximum range is 920 meters, because there is a quill in time to explode the rocket, so that often, against airplanes and especially helicopters, RPGs have been used for anti-aircraft role, with the aim of damaging aircraft with explosions of explosions about 1km away.
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Germany sent 5 Dingo troop transport vehicles, 30 Milan anti-tank missile launchers with 500 missiles, 240 Panzerfaust rocket launchers with 3.500 rockets, one thousand hand grenades, 8.000 G3 assault rifles with 2 million ammunition and 8 thousand G -36 with 4 million projectiles, 40 MG machine guns with one million projectiles for a total total value of 70 million.
The British Ministry of Defense has agreed to send heavy machine guns and 500.000 munitions to the Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State of Isis. Urgent military support to provide the Kurdish forces with additional firepower to defend the front line, protect civilians and repel ISIS rebels. In a memorandum to the Parliament, the English defense secretary Michael Fallon declared that the armaments sent have a value of about 1,6 million pounds for transport costs estimated around the sterling 475.000.
Finally the Czech Republic which is committed to providing 18 million bullets 7,62 caliber, 5.000 rockets for Rpg-7 and 5.000 hand grenades, for a total value of 2 million dollars.
For its part, ISIS boasts an arsenal consisting of 30 T-55 tanks, Soviet vehicles produced since the end of the Second World War. Despite their age, these tanks are operational in 50 armies around the world. They have a heavy armor of around 35 tons, a 100 mm cannon and a 7,62 mm machine gun. In addition to the T55, Isis can have T-72 tanks, also Soviet but second generation. ISIS should have between 5 and 10 copies. The T-72 features a 125mm cannon, a secondary machine gun, and an anti-aircraft gun. But the list also includes: M198 howitzer, medium sized towable artillery piece with a range of over 22 km; the M198 which can launch a variety of ammunition, such as explosive, self-propelled and white phosphorus projectiles; model 59-1 cannon, Chinese replica of the lighter Soviet M-46 from 1954 towed. For a time it was the gun with the longest range of action with a range of over 27 km. Isis allegedly stole them from Syrian and Iraqi regulars.
Moving on to small arms, we find them in large quantities. As you know, they are the most common, simpler to use and easier to hide, they can be sold and resold at low cost. In these weapons, the serial numbers have been canceled with the use of oxyacetylene flame, to make it more difficult to discover their origin: the AK-47, has become the de facto standard portable weapon of Isis, due to its low cost. Next to the AK 47 there are the AKM assault rifles in the hands of ISIS manufactured in the USSR in the years 1960, 1964 and 1970. But there are also the US-made M16A4, Chinese-made M80 multipurpose machine guns to which they were applied new serial numbers, M79 Osa rocket launcher, 90 mm, with anti-tank effectiveness and against fortified positions, RBG-6 grenade launcher, light infantry semi-automatic and the DShK 1938 heavy machine gun, Dushka. The Dushka has several uses, including anti-aircraft and infantry support weapon; has a cadence of 600 strokes per minute.
To this we must add that a considerable part of ISIS's supply comes from the ammunition that the US military has distributed to the Iraqi military units, after the invasion of the 2003. Other routes for the supply of arms of the Caliphate are the one that comes from Yemen (in Jihana there is one of the largest arms markets) but also from Sudan and especially from Mali whose circulation of arms is the result of the geopolitical condition of anarchy in which it covers the whole north-eastern area of the country.
Roberto Colella
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(in the opening picture an ANA soldier with an RPG-7 - USMC source)
