Presence of Iranian Troops and Equipment in Iraq Becoming Increasingly Apparent

Jeremy Binnie

IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly

October 16, 2014

Iranian support for Iraqi militias becomes increasingly apparent

Kurdish fighters fire a M40-type 106 mm recoilless gun from an Iranian Safir jeep near Tuz Khurmatu in Iraq on 31 August. Source: PA Photos

A man wearing Iraqi army airborne jump wings with a large-calibre rifle stands in front of an Iranian Safir jeep with a 107 mm multiple rocket launcher in a photograph posted on the Facebook page of the Iraqi Shia group Saraya Khorasani. The rifle appears to be an Iranian copy of the HS .50 with an additional carrying handle. (Saraya Khorasani)

A growing number of Iraqi militias have been seen using Iranian-made weapons in their battles against Sunni militants led by Islamic State (IS).

While many of the weapons produced by Iran are copies of arms designed in other countries, some are distinctively Iranian, including the 12.7 mm AM-50 anti-materiel rifle. Occasionally referred to as the Sayyad, the AM-50 is a copy of the Steyr HS .50, but Iranian-made versions can be identified from their different barrels and muzzle breaks.

These heavy calibre rifles appear to have been used by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq since at least 2007, but have become increasingly visible in recent months as Shia militias have been remobilised to counter the Sunni offensive that began in June.

Multiple images and videos posted on the Facebook and YouTube pages of Saraya Khorasani and Kataib Imam Ali show their fighters armed with AM-50 rifles.

Saraya Khorasani is clearly supportive of the Iranian government as it uses photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni as its Facebook cover pictures. The group’s logo is also reminiscent of the ones used by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hizbullah. Photographs and videos from earlier in the year show its fighters operating in Syria, but in the more recent posts they are operating in Iraq.

The group has also posted photographs showing some of its members with Iran’s Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force external operations arm. Brig Gen Soleimani is widely seen as the driving force behind Iran’s policy of developing allied armed groups in Arab countries.

Members of Kataib Imam Ali fire a 107 mm multiple rocket launcher from an Iranian-made Safir jeep. (Kataib Imam Ali)

Photographs posted on Kataib Imam Ali Brigades’ Facebook page suggest its members are well-equipped and operating closely with Iraqi special forces and army aviation.

The other clearly Iranian-made product seen in both groups’ media output is the Safir jeep. These generally carry 12-tube 107 mm artillery rocket launchers (MRLs) Iraqi militia service but have also been seen armed with M40-type 106 mm recoilless guns. Iran produces versions of both the 107 mm MRL and M40 recoilless gun.

Meanwhile, photographs and videos have also been released purportedly showing an Iranian 122 mm HM 20 MRL in Iraq. The HM 20 is essentially a copy of the BM-11 launcher mounted on a MAN LX tactical truck.

Kurdish militias are also using Iranian weapons. Kurdish fighters were photographed with a Safir jeep and recoilless gun near Tuz Khurmatu in August. A photograph published that emerged on social media sites in early October showed Brig Gen Soleimani apparently posing with Kurdish fighters near Tuz Khurmatu.

The Qods Force commander reportedly helped co-ordinate Iraqi government forces with Kurdish and Shia militias to retake the town of Amirli in August. Given the location, the Kurdish fighters were probably affiliated to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) that controls the east of the Iraqi Kurdish region.

Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which controls the west and is received arms and training from Western countries, told a press conference on 27 August that his forces were also receiving weapons from Iran.

While the militias play a significant role in stemming the IS advance after the collapse of many Iraqi Army formations, there are concerns that the growing power of Shia groups with a history of sectarian violence will make it difficult for Baghdad to win over the country’s Sunni minority and undermine the popularity of the IS, which presents the government as an Iranian-controlled entity.