FN FAL

Conflict Usage

Boko Haram Insurgency

Side: Boko Haram and ISWAPRole: Insurgent small-arms fire and looted rifle stocksstrike

United Nations and Lake Chad Basin Commission reporting lists the FN FAL among assault rifles used by Boko Haram, while HumAngle reported ISWAP looted FN FAL rifles during 2021 fighting in the Bama area of Borno State; the record treats the rifle as a documented insurgent small arm rather than a standardized issue weapon.

Battle of Marawi

Side: IS-aligned militantsRole: Recovered militant battle riflestrike

Philippine forces recovered three FAL rifles from submerged weapons believed abandoned by Daesh-inspired Maute fighters after the Battle of Marawi, documenting the type among militant-held small arms rather than a standard Philippine government weapon in the battle.

Haitian Gang Conflict

Side: Armed gangsRole: Gang-held battle rifle for armed attacksstrike

The Haitian Gang Conflict is documented by Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime reporting that describes Haitian gangs using FN-FAL semi-automatic rifles in Port-au-Prince-area violence.

War against the Islamic State

Side: Islamic StateRole: Captured militant battle riflestrike

The War against the Islamic State includes FN FAL rifles captured from Islamic State forces in Kobane, Syria, documented by Conflict Armament Research as part of Islamic State weapons recovered in the conflict.

FN FAL Images

Related Weapon Systems

Infantry 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 archive 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, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.

Infantry WeaponsBeretta BM59 rifleBattle rifleThe Beretta BM59 is an Italian selective-fire battle rifle developed from the M1 Garand and chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. In Haiti's current gang conflict, open-source reporting has mentioned BM59 Beretta rifles among the firearms gangs use, but not enough to assign a narrower combat role from direct evidence.

Infantry WeaponsHeckler & Koch G37.62 mm select-fire battle rifleThe Heckler & Koch G3 is a roller-delayed 7.62 x 51 mm NATO battle rifle developed in West Germany from the CETME rifle family. Its long service life and licensed production have left G3-pattern rifles in multiple conflict arsenals, including documented Boko Haram small-arms holdings in the Lake Chad basin, RSF-held modified rifles in Sudan, and Saudi-linked G3 rifles reported in Yemen's fragmented arms environment.

Infantry WeaponsHK21 general-purpose machine gun7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunThe HK21 is a Heckler & Koch belt-fed 7.62x51 mm NATO general-purpose machine gun derived from the G3 rifle family. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, Nigerian military reporting and ISWAP media analysis document HK21-pattern guns among weapons recovered from, or displayed by, Boko Haram and ISWAP forces, making it a small-unit fire-support weapon in the Lake Chad conflict archive.

Infantry WeaponsK2 assault rifle5.56 mm assault rifleThe K2 is a South Korean 5.56 mm assault rifle originally associated with Daewoo and now the wider SNT Motiv K-series small-arms line. In the Boko Haram Insurgency archive, its relevance comes from ISWAP photographs and videos that showed Daewoo K2 rifles among militant small arms, likely reflecting capture or diversion from regional state inventories rather than formal insurgent procurement.

Infantry WeaponsPindad SS1-V15.56 mm assault rifleThe Pindad SS1-V1 is an Indonesian 5.56 x 45 mm assault rifle based on the FN FNC and produced by PT Pindad. Its Battle of Marawi record is narrow but directly documented: ARES identified an SS1-V1 among weapons seized from IS-aligned Maute Group fighters in Marawi, making it a rare Indonesian-pattern rifle in the militant small-arms mix.

Sources