Weapons smuggling from Iraq to Syria

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/84506560/N...9s-gun-runners

It's only been a few years since smugglers were bringing weapons into Iraq from Syria to arm insurgents fighting the Iraqi government.

Now, smugglers are bringing weapons from Iraq to Syria to fight against Assad.

Apparently Syrian border guards are mostly looking the other way at this, because they don't want to get involved in a shootout.

[Bloo]

Syria has really been getting some role reversal these last few months. Suffering from IED's, weapons smuggling, Islamists, ambushes, guerrilla tactics, car bombings, and international pressure. To say the shoe is on the other foot now is certainly an understatement.

[Zorro C9]

I've not been following the conflict too closely, have there been any extremist fundamentalist groups getting involved in this a la Bosnia or Iraq?

[Impartial Bias]

I've not been following the conflict too closely, have there been any extremist fundamentalist groups getting involved in this a la Bosnia or Iraq?

Several al Qaeda cells and foreign mujaheddin are part of the insurgency from what I've seen. The FSA (which is made up of mostly defecting Syrian Army and civilians) has been trying to distance themselves from them however.

[kalerab]

Apparently Syrian border guards are mostly looking the other way at this, because they don't want to get involved in a shootout.

There´s that and also fact that border area is mostly vast desert inhabited by sunnis opposed to Assad. Establishing smuggler routes in those conditions is not that hard. Anyway, thanks for sharing, it is interesting to know that army border patrol either do not care about smuggling or are scared to intervene (possibly because from sympathy with rebels).

I've not been following the conflict too closely, have there been any extremist fundamentalist groups getting involved in this a la Bosnia or Iraq?

Yeah, most prominent al-Nusra front - newly established jihadi group which claimed responsibility for Damascus and Aleppo bombing. No one knows what strenght do they have or wether they actually detonated those bombs, given that they claimed responsibility for Damascus bombing months after it happened. Fatah al-Islam is probably operating there as well, one of their leaders was killed few days ago.

[gresh]

I've not been following the conflict too closely, have there been any extremist fundamentalist groups getting involved in this a la Bosnia or Iraq?

Yeah. Some Lebanese dumb@ss just blew himself to bits trying to plant an IED. He went there on a mission to help train the FSA in bomb-making skills. The FSA has been known to accept training from extremist groups in Iraq, but they're kind of weary with associating themselves with them publicly. Kind of fvcks up their credibility cause they try to be secular. There's Christian's in the FSA and stuff like that.

[Zorro C9]

Several al Qaeda cells and foreign mujaheddin are part of the insurgency from what I've seen. The FSA (which is made up of mostly defecting Syrian Army and civilians) has been trying to distance themselves from them however.

Yeah. Some Lebanese dumb@ss just blew himself to bits trying to plant an IED. He went there on a mission to help train the FSA in bomb-making skills. The FSA has been known to accept training from extremist groups in Iraq, but they're kind of weary with associating themselves with them publicly. Kind of fvcks up their credibility cause they try to be secular. There's Christian's in the FSA and stuff like that.

Thanks guys, appreciate the posts.

[antman311]

I remember my brother telling me in 2007 about Iraqi police and Syrian border guards getting in firefights at night due to those Syrians bringing over weapons. He and his marines were the only ones with night vision, so they just sat back and watched the tracers go back and forth (they didn't want to get involved obviously). This may be five years ago, but this kind of surprises me, as they weren't afraid to get in firefights before. Why not now?

[bryant]

I remember my brother telling me in 2007 about Iraqi police and Syrian border guards getting in firefights at night due to those Syrians bringing over weapons. He and his marines were the only ones with night vision, so they just sat back and watched the tracers go back and forth (they didn't want to get involved obviously). This may be five years ago, but this kind of surprises me, as they weren't afraid to get in firefights before. Why not now?

It's probably because they don't want to kill anyone that is helping them.

[tea drinker]

^Perhaps the Iraqi police were trying to draw Syrian fire in the hope of drawing in the Americans? Wild speculation I know.......

[bryant]

Not sure if serious. I mean now, the Syrian don't want to look the gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.