2014 War Against the Islamic State

AK-74 in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State

The AK-74 family appears in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State through AK-74M rifles documented in Islamic State small-arms evidence and open-source reporting from the Iraq-Syria theater.

Weapon profileAK-74
SideIslamic StateRoleCaptured, Seized & RecoveredInsurgent / Guerrilla Use
AK-74, Assault rifle, Infantry Weapons - 2014 War Against the Islamic State
Image source: AK-74 DA-ST-89-06610

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
AK-74M rifles were positively identified in Islamic State service during the Iraq-Syria conflict.

Sources: Taking Stock PDF

Bellingcat identified Islamic State as a major AK-74M operator in Syria and reported AK-74Ms with Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

Sources: Bellingcat Syria AK-74Ms

The likely acquisition route for the documented AK-74M examples was looting from Syrian army stocks, according to Amnesty International.

Sources: Taking Stock PDF

CAR's wider field investigation supports the context of Islamic State recovered weapons in Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017, but does not by itself identify the AK-74M in the cited report.

Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State, CAR Islamic State Weapons Dispatch

The available sources support fielding and possession by Islamic State, not a complete rifle count, serial-number trace, or specific dated AK-74M firing incident.

Sources: Taking Stock PDF, Weapons of the Islamic State

Timeline

AK-74 In 2014 War Against the Islamic State

  1. CAR begins documenting captured Islamic State materiel

    Conflict Armament Research documented weapons and ammunition captured from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria between mid-June and early August 2014, establishing field context for later Islamic State small-arms assessments.

    Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons Dispatch, Weapons of the Islamic State

  2. Bellingcat reports AK-74Ms with Islamic State fighters

    Bellingcat described Islamic State as the largest AK-74M operator among non-state groups in Syria and said numerous AK-74Ms had also reached Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

    Sources: Bellingcat Syria AK-74Ms

  3. Amnesty identifies AK-74M in Islamic State evidence

    Amnesty International listed the AK-74M among conventional arms positively identified in Islamic State service during the ongoing Iraq-Syria conflict and assessed a probable Syrian army stock origin.

    Sources: Taking Stock PDF

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Amnesty International's 2015 report on the arming of Islamic State, drawing on Armament Research Services analysis and Conflict Armament Research field work, identifies the modern Russian AK-74M among AK-family rifles in evidence with Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. The same report states that the AK-74M examples were most probably looted from Syrian army stocks.

Bellingcat's February 2015 open-source article on Syrian AK-74Ms separately described Islamic State as the largest AK-74M operator among non-state groups fighting in Syria and noted that AK-74Ms had also reached Islamic State fighters in Iraq. Together, the sources support Islamic State fielding of AK-74-family rifles in the Iraq-Syria campaign, but they do not provide a complete count, serial-number chain, or single dated firing incident for each rifle.

Sources: Taking Stock PDF, Bellingcat Syria AK-74Ms, Weapons of the Islamic State

Timeline

Conflict Armament Research's September 2014 dispatch documented weapons and ammunition captured from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria between mid-June and early August 2014. That dispatch did not identify the AK-74M by name, but it supplied part of the field-research context for later reporting on Islamic State small arms.

By February 2015, Bellingcat was reporting AK-74M distribution to Syrian Arab Army and Republican Guard units fighting Islamic State around Deir ez-Zor, while also identifying Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq with AK-74M rifles. In December 2015, Amnesty published the clearest catalogued AK-74M identification, listing the rifle in a baseline assessment of conventional arms positively identified in Islamic State service during the ongoing Iraq-Syria conflict.

Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons Dispatch, Bellingcat Syria AK-74Ms, Taking Stock PDF

Battlefield role

The supported role is captured or diverted infantry small arms in Islamic State service. Amnesty describes AK-family automatic rifles as the group's main rifle type and places the AK-74M inside that small-arms pool; Bellingcat describes AK-74Ms with Islamic State fighters in both Syria and Iraq.

The sources separate possession and fielding from a proven supply route. Amnesty assessed a probable Syrian army stock origin for the AK-74M examples, while CAR's broader 2017 investigation found that Islamic State forces relied heavily on weapons and ammunition recovered in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017. The record therefore treats the AK-74 entry as Islamic State use of AK-74-family rifles, centered on the AK-74M variant, not as proof of a formal transfer to the group.

Sources: Taking Stock PDF, Bellingcat Syria AK-74Ms, Weapons of the Islamic State

Related Weapons by Role

AKM, 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAKM7.62x39mm assault rifleThe AKM is the stamped-receiver modernization of the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle, chambered for 7.62x39mm and built around a long-stroke gas piston and rotating bolt. Adopted in 1959, it reduced production burden compared with earlier milled-receiver AK rifles and became a widely licensed baseline for later 7.62mm Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. CAR and ARES field documentation continues to place AKM and AKM-pattern rifles in modern conflict stocks, from Islamic State recoveries in Iraq and Syria to Taliban captures in Afghanistan.
AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAK-47/AKM rifle familySelective-fire assault rifle familyAK-47/AKM-family rifles are Kalashnikov-pattern small arms derived from the Soviet AK-47 and 1959 AKM modernization, usually chambered in 7.62 x 39 mm. In the post-2015 catalog they appear with FARC dissidents in Colombia, gangs in Haiti, PKK fighters, GNA scouts in Libya, insurgents in Mali, Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, militants in Sinai, RSF units in Sudan, Hamas fighters in Gaza, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Boko Haram-linked militants in the Lake Chad basin, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.
RPK/RPK-74, Squad automatic weapon / light machine gun, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsRPK/RPK-74Squad automatic weapon / light machine gunThe RPK and RPK-74 are Kalashnikov-pattern squad automatic weapons that extend the AK family with a longer, heavier barrel, bipod, and higher-capacity magazines for infantry fire support. The 7.62 x 39 mm RPK paralleled the AKM, while the 5.45 x 39 mm RPK-74 followed the AK-74; Conflict Armament Research later documented both RPK and RPK-74 examples in Ukraine, and Amnesty International listed both types among Islamic State machine guns in Iraq and Syria.
AKMS, Folding-stock 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAKMSFolding-stock 7.62x39mm assault rifleThe AKMS is the under-folding-stock member of the Soviet AKM assault-rifle family, retaining the stamped receiver, long-stroke gas system, select-fire controls, and 7.62x39mm chambering while shortening the rifle for airborne troops, vehicle crews, and compact carry. Conflict Armament Research and ARES documentation places AKMS-family rifles in Islamic State stocks around Kobane and in a 2022 Ukrainian police seizure from an alleged Russian saboteur, showing how older Kalashnikov-pattern rifles remain visible in modern war.
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Sources