SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US Reportedly Airdropped Weapons Into ISIS Hands
YouTube video depicts munitions destined for Kurdish fighters in Kobani reportedly obtained by ISIS fighters
Oct 22, 2014
Fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or ISIS) are claiming to have obtained a cache of weapons from the U.S. military after it airdropped bundles of small-arms ammunition and weaponry destined for Kurdish fighters in Kobani.
A video reportedly released by ISIS and posted to YouTube on Monday by A3maq News shows a masked man standing beside a parachuted bundle of boxes, which he proceeds to open revealing an array of weapons including mortars and grenades.
Speaking to reporters late Monday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby acknowledged that the weapons were "of the kinds of materials that [were] dropped," which he said included small-arms ammunition and weaponry. Kirby stated that the Pentagon is "very confident that the vast majority of the bundles did end up in the right hands," adding that they are "only aware of one bundle that did not."
Kirby said that the Pentagon is currently investigating the authenticity of the video.
This is not the first instance where it was revealed that the U.S. military is currently engaged in a war against ISIS fighters that are arming themselves with munitions from the U.S.. A recent report conducted by Conflict Armament Research found that ISIS fighters were using "significant quantities of US-manufactured small arms and have employed them on the battlefield."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or ISIS) are claiming to have obtained a cache of weapons from the U.S. military after it airdropped bundles of small-arms ammunition and weaponry destined for Kurdish fighters in Kobani.
A video reportedly released by ISIS and posted to YouTube on Monday by A3maq News shows a masked man standing beside a parachuted bundle of boxes, which he proceeds to open revealing an array of weapons including mortars and grenades.
Speaking to reporters late Monday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby acknowledged that the weapons were "of the kinds of materials that [were] dropped," which he said included small-arms ammunition and weaponry. Kirby stated that the Pentagon is "very confident that the vast majority of the bundles did end up in the right hands," adding that they are "only aware of one bundle that did not."
Kirby said that the Pentagon is currently investigating the authenticity of the video.
This is not the first instance where it was revealed that the U.S. military is currently engaged in a war against ISIS fighters that are arming themselves with munitions from the U.S.. A recent report conducted by Conflict Armament Research found that ISIS fighters were using "significant quantities of US-manufactured small arms and have employed them on the battlefield."
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or ISIS) are claiming to have obtained a cache of weapons from the U.S. military after it airdropped bundles of small-arms ammunition and weaponry destined for Kurdish fighters in Kobani.
A video reportedly released by ISIS and posted to YouTube on Monday by A3maq News shows a masked man standing beside a parachuted bundle of boxes, which he proceeds to open revealing an array of weapons including mortars and grenades.
Speaking to reporters late Monday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby acknowledged that the weapons were "of the kinds of materials that [were] dropped," which he said included small-arms ammunition and weaponry. Kirby stated that the Pentagon is "very confident that the vast majority of the bundles did end up in the right hands," adding that they are "only aware of one bundle that did not."
Kirby said that the Pentagon is currently investigating the authenticity of the video.
This is not the first instance where it was revealed that the U.S. military is currently engaged in a war against ISIS fighters that are arming themselves with munitions from the U.S.. A recent report conducted by Conflict Armament Research found that ISIS fighters were using "significant quantities of US-manufactured small arms and have employed them on the battlefield."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.