2014 War Against the Islamic State

AK-47/AKM rifle family in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State

Islamic State forces used AK-pattern rifles as common infantry weapons in Iraq and Syria, with CAR documenting captured AKM rifles in northern Syria in July 2014 and later identifying 7.62x39 mm AK-pattern rifles as the most common weapon type in its recovered IS sample.

Weapon profileAK-47/AKM rifle family
SideIslamic StateRoleInsurgent / Guerrilla UseCaptured, Seized & Recovered
AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry Weapons - 2014 War Against the Islamic State
Image source: U.S. Navy Seizes 1,400 Assault Rifles During Illicit Weapons Interdiction

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Three AKM 7.62x39 mm assault rifles were captured from Islamic State forces by YPG forces at Avdoke, Syria, in July 2014.

Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria

CAR documented recovered Islamic State weapons across Iraq and Syria from July 2014 to November 2017 and identified AK-pattern assault rifles as the most common weapon type in the regional sample.

Sources: CAR Weapons of the Islamic State

The AK family and close derivatives were described as Islamic State's main rifle type in a December 2015 Amnesty International report drawing on ARES analysis.

Sources: Amnesty Taking Stock

The public sources support fielding and recovery of AKM/AK-pattern rifles, but not a verified total inventory count or one named first firing incident.

Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria, CAR Weapons of the Islamic State, Amnesty Taking Stock

Timeline

AK-47/AKM rifle family In 2014 War Against the Islamic State

  1. AKM rifles captured from IS forces in northern Syria

    YPG forces captured three Soviet-manufactured AKM 7.62x39 mm assault rifles from Islamic State forces at Avdoke, Syria; CAR documented the rifles on July 26, 2014.

    Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria

  2. Amnesty identifies the AK family as IS's main rifle type

    Amnesty International, using ARES analysis of imagery, videos, and sources in Iraq and Syria, described the AK family and close derivatives as Islamic State's main rifle type.

    Sources: Amnesty Taking Stock

  3. CAR publishes three-year recovered-weapons investigation

    CAR's Weapons of the Islamic State report identified 7.62x39 mm AK-pattern assault rifles as the most common weapon type in its Iraq-and-Syria sample of weapons recovered from Islamic State forces.

    Sources: CAR Weapons of the Islamic State

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Conflict Armament Research directly documented AKM 7.62x39 mm assault rifles captured from Islamic State forces in northern Syria in July 2014. The case involved three Soviet-manufactured AKM rifles captured by YPG forces at Avdoke, Syria, on July 13, 2014 and documented by CAR on July 26, 2014.

CAR's later three-year investigation broadened that early case into a larger Iraq-and-Syria pattern. Its field teams documented 1,832 weapons and 40,984 units of ammunition recovered from Islamic State forces across the region between July 2014 and November 2017, and reported that the most common weapon type in the regional sample was the 7.62x39 mm AK-pattern assault rifle.

Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria, CAR Weapons of the Islamic State

Timeline

The earliest direct AKM case used here comes from the first weeks after Islamic State's June 2014 expansion in Iraq and northern Syria. CAR examined captured weapons with YPG and Peshmerga forces and documented some items within days of capture.

By December 2015, Amnesty International, drawing on Armament Research Services analysis of imagery, video, and sources in Iraq and Syria, described the AK family and its close derivatives as Islamic State's main rifle type. CAR's December 2017 report then placed AK-pattern rifles at the center of its physically inspected recovered-weapons sample.

Sources: CAR Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria, Amnesty Taking Stock, CAR Weapons of the Islamic State

Narrative

Within the 2014 War Against the Islamic State, the rifle family's documented role is irregular infantry armament for Islamic State fighters and recovered battlefield materiel for coalition and partner-force investigations. The sources support Islamic State possession and fielding of AKM and broader AK-pattern rifles; they do not identify one single first firing incident or a comprehensive count of every AK-pattern rifle in the group's inventory.

The evidence also separates weapon use from supply-chain certainty. Amnesty reported that much of Islamic State's arsenal was captured or illicitly traded from poorly secured Iraqi military stocks, with additional access to Syrian military stocks and weapons supplied to Syrian armed groups. CAR's 2017 field data showed that the recovered small-arms sample was overwhelmingly Warsaw Pact caliber, while U.S.-made rifles accounted for only a small share of Islamic State holdings in the Iraq and Syria operations.

Sources: Amnesty Taking Stock, CAR 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.
Galil assault rifle, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsGalil assault rifleSelective-fire assault rifle familyThe Galil is an Israeli Kalashnikov-derived assault rifle family originally produced by Israel Military Industries and later modernized by Israel Weapon Industries as the Galil ACE line. Recent conflict reporting places Galil or Galil ACE rifles in irregular small-arms stocks from the Lake Chad Basin to FARC dissident operations in Colombia and trafficked gang arsenals in Haiti, where they appear as portable infantry weapons rather than heavy support systems.
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.
PKM/PK, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsPKM/PK7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunThe PK and lighter PKM are Soviet-designed, belt-fed 7.62x54R general-purpose machine guns used from bipods, tripods, vehicles, remote weapon stations, and improvised mounts. Their low weight for the class, non-disintegrating belt feed, quick-change barrel concept, and wide licensed-production base make the family a recurring infantry fire-support weapon in recent conflicts, with documented rows here covering Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Mali, Lake Chad, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Turkey's conflict with the PKK.
Type 56 assault rifle, 7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsType 56 assault rifle7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifleThe Type 56 is China's 7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifle family, adopted in 1956, built in very large numbers, and exported widely through state, surplus, and illicit channels. Its early rifles followed the Soviet AK-47 with milled receivers, later production used AKM-style stamped receivers under the same designation, and many examples are recognizable by a permanently attached folding spike bayonet. In the 2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, Small Arms Survey and Stimson reporting link Chinese Type 56 rifles to weapons seized from Boko Haram members and to materiel captured during the 2016 Bosso camp attack in Niger.
2 more weapons
Back to AK-47/AKM rifle familyBrowse 2014 War Against the Islamic State

Sources