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| Europe |
| Roshuns say AKs used in Paris attacks came from the US |
| 2015-12-12 |
| Shades of Gun Walker: The Russian news agency FAN reported that a number of the AKs used in the November attacks in Paris were originally sent to the US. A manager at a Yugoslavia weapons factory identified as Miloyko Brzakovich told the Associated Press that the serial numbers of the weapons matched those that were exported to the US in 2013 from Serbian factory "Zastava Arms". The news report goes on to say that unidentified US officials refused to comment on the story. The AKs used in the attacks were the Yugoslavian M92 and M70 AK-47, 7.62x39mm. US law prohibits military grade rifles to be imported into the United States unless they have been de-militarized, usually by destroying the rifle's receiver and by disassembly. Those resulting kits are then taken and rebuilt as semiautomatic rifles for civilian use, either commercially or by individuals. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #9 One of the weapons came from the US, according to An Nahar: Some of the arms believed to be used in last month's deadly Paris attacks, were manufactured in Serbia's arms factory, including one exported to U.S. in 2013, a company official said Friday. "A semi-automatic pistol PV M92 was produced in our factory and legally exported to the (Florida-based) company Century International Arms in May 2013," Milojko Brzakovic, head of Zastava arms factory told AFP. Following the November 13 attacks in Paris, Serbia's interior ministry was asked by French police and Interpol to check serial numbers of seven pieces of weapons believed to have been manufactured in Zastava, Brzakovic said. "We were given numbers of weapons and confirmed that all had been manufactured in Zastava and we delivered information where these weapons ended up," he said. All serial numbers, including the semi-automatic pistol and several automatic rifles, versions of AK-47 known as Kalashnikov, matched the weapons legally produced and sold by our factory, he said. "We have strictly controlled trade of arms and military equipment, nothing goes out of the factory without the approval of the Serbian government and export licence," Brzakovic insisted. He had no explanation how the legally sold weapons, including the pistol exported to the US, ended up in the hands of attackers in Paris. According to Brzakovic, one rifle was delivered in 1983 to an army barrack in Bosnia, another to one in Macedonia in 1987, two were sent to army units in two Croatian towns and one in 1990 to a Slovenia's military office. One pistol CZ99 was sold to a local arms dealer in 1993. German newspaper Bild reported last month that four assault rifles used in the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead had been allegedly purchased from a trafficker in Germany. Quoting documents from the Stuttgart prosecutor's office, the newspaper said two AK47s and two Zastava M70s were sold on November 7 by the arms dealer to a customer in Paris. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2015-12-12 19:12 |
| #8 I doubt they even cleared customs before being shipped back. That or they never made it here and were intercepted somewhere along the way, inbound or outbound. That would not surprise me. Though I'd use 'diverted' rather than intercepted. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-12-12 17:59 |
| #7 Call me Mr. Skeptical. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2015-12-12 14:10 |
| #6 The Russians are making a full-on drive to put a wedge between France and the US; I think this is just another element of such. And I expect Presnident Obola to continue to goldbrick the situation and let them do it. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2015-12-12 12:51 |
| #5 Possibly offloaded from a container, checked, processed, and reloaded into another container for "re-export"? I doubt they even cleared customs before being shipped back. That or they never made it here and were intercepted somewhere along the way, inbound or outbound. |
| Posted by: badanov 2015-12-12 12:21 |
| #4 Then of course you have the usually unreliable Russian media sourcing. Guess you missed that part of the story in which a factory manager made the charge. |
| Posted by: badanov 2015-12-12 12:18 |
| #3 2013? Possibly offloaded from a container, checked, processed, and reloaded into another container for "re-export"? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-12-12 11:38 |
| #2 The entire world is awash in the damn things. Obtaining converted semi-auto kits or models from a commercial U.S. shipment seems a bit unlikely. Possible, but unlikely. Then of course you have the usually unreliable Russian media sourcing. Clutching [but not tossing] my bullshi* flag. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-12-12 07:41 |
| #1 Gotta wonder.... Did Obama / Holder give any AKs to the Mexican Drug Cartels? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2015-12-12 00:17 |