2011 Syrian Civil War

82 mm Mortar Bombs in the 2011 Syrian Civil War

Conflict Armament Research documented Chinese W87 82 mm mortar-projectile packaging in Kobane, Syria, during its February 2015 field investigation of Islamic State materiel; the evidence supports IS possession and battlefield materiel in the Kobane phase, not a named firing incident.

Weapon profileMortar bombs, 82 mm
SideIslamic State and jihadist groupsRoleFire SupportInsurgent / Guerrilla Use
Mortar bombs, 82 mm, 82 mm high-explosive mortar bomb, Munitions - 2011 Syrian Civil War
Image source: Shell for USSR 82-mm mortar

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Chinese W87 82 mm mortar-projectile packaging was documented in Kobane, Syria, in February 2015.

Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State

The Kobane materiel was documented in the context of weapons and ammunition captured from Islamic State forces after the siege.

Sources: Islamic State Weapons in Kobane

The same W87 lot number appeared in CAR documentation from Tikrit, Iraq, in April 2015.

Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State

The sources do not identify a named 82 mm mortar firing incident in Syria.

Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State, Islamic State Weapons in Kobane

Timeline

Mortar bombs, 82 mm In 2011 Syrian Civil War

  1. Siege of Kobane begins

    CAR's Kobane dispatch gives 13 September 2014 as the start of the Islamic State siege of Kobane.

    Sources: Islamic State Weapons in Kobane

  2. Islamic State retreats from Kobane

    CAR reports that IS forces retreated from Kobane on 26 January 2015, ending more than four months of siege fighting.

    Sources: Islamic State Weapons in Kobane

  3. W87 82 mm packaging documented in Kobane

    CAR documented tube packaging for a Chinese W87 82 mm mortar projectile in Kobane, Syria, during a February 2015 field investigation.

    Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State

  4. Matching W87 lot documented in Tikrit

    CAR documented tube packaging for a Chinese W87 82 mm mortar projectile with the same lot number in Tikrit, Iraq, giving the W87 lot a Syria-Iraq correlation in IS materiel.

    Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The clearest source-backed link between 82 mm mortar bombs and the Syrian Civil War is Conflict Armament Research's documentation of tube packaging for a Chinese W87 82 mm mortar projectile in Kobane, Syria, in February 2015. CAR recorded the packaging during a wider field investigation of Islamic State weapons and ammunition in Iraq and Syria, and later noted matching W87 packaging with the same lot number in Tikrit, Iraq, in April 2015.

The Kobane evidence is a materiel record rather than a specific strike record. It supports the presence of W87 82 mm mortar-projectile packaging in Islamic State conflict materiel in Syria, but it does not identify a particular 82 mm mortar firing, target, casualty event, or launch crew.

Sources: Weapons of the Islamic State

Timeline

Islamic State forces besieged Kobane from September 2014 until January 2015. CAR's Kobane dispatch describes a post-battle field investigation conducted from 20 to 27 February 2015 alongside YPG units documenting weapons and ammunition captured from IS forces.

In that same February 2015 Kobane evidence set, CAR later documented the Chinese W87 82 mm mortar-projectile packaging. The matching-lot packaging found in Tikrit two months later gave CAR a cross-border lot correlation between Syrian and Iraqi battlefield materiel.

Sources: Islamic State Weapons in Kobane, Weapons of the Islamic State

Narrative

The 82 mm mortar-bomb record fits a broader Kobane battlefield picture in which Islamic State relied on captured weapons, ammunition, and improvised munitions during an urban siege against Kurdish forces. CAR's Kobane dispatch reported that YPG units captured significant IS materiel, while its later Iraq-and-Syria report placed the W87 82 mm mortar-projectile packaging within a larger set of traceable conventional materiel documented across IS fronts.

For catalog purposes, the supported role is indirect-fire ammunition held or fielded within IS conflict materiel in Syria. The sources do not establish whether the particular W87 lot documented in Kobane was fired before capture, stored for later use, moved from another front, or recovered from a position after combat.

Sources: Islamic State Weapons in Kobane, Weapons of the Islamic State

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Sources