ANKARA: A study found that companies from 20 companies are involved in the supply chain of components that end up in Islamic State explosives, indicating that governments and firms need to do more to track the flow of cables, chemicals and other equipment. The European Union-mandated study showed that 51 companies from countries including Turkey, Brazil and the United States produced, sold or received more than 700 components used by Islamic State to build improvised explosive devices.
Conflict Armament Research, which conducted the 20-month study said that IEDs are now being produced on a “quasi-industrial scale” by the militant group which uses both industrial components that are regulated and widely available equipment such as fertiliser chemicals and mobile phones. NATO member, Turkey shares borders with Iraq and Syria; both controlled by the Islamic State, and has boosted security to prevent the flow of weapons and insurgents to the terrorist group. A total of 13 Turkish firms were found to be involved in the supply chain, the most in any one country, followed by India with seven. CAR executive director, James Bevan said, “These findings support growing international awareness that IS forces in Iraq and Syria are very much self-sustaining- acquiring weapons and strategic goods, such as IED components, locally and with ease.”
The study also found that the IS is able to acquire some components in as a little as a month after their lawful supply to firms in the region. The sale of the cheap and easily available parts is far less scrutinised and regulated than the transfer of weapons. “Companies having effective accounting systems to establish where the goods went after them would act as a deterrent,” Bevan said. He also stated that the Turkish government refused to cooperate with CAR's investigation so the groups was not able to determine the efficacy of Ankara's regulations regarding the tracking of components. CAR gained access to the components through partners including the Washington-backed Kurdish YPG in Syria, the Iraqi Federal Police, the Kurdistan Region Security Council and forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Companies linked to the components were contacted, however, they either did not respond or were not able to account for where the goods went after they left their custody.
Seven Indian companies manufactured most of the detonators, detonating cord, and safety fuses documented by CAR. Those were all legally exported under government-issued licences from India to entities in Lebanon and Turkey, CAR found. Companies from Brazil, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic were also involved, the report found.
