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Iraq
ISIS recruited Soviet army officers, seized 1700 bullet-proof Hummers , says Barzani
2015-02-09
[IraqiNews.com] On Saturday, president of Kurdistan Massoud Barzani
... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes...
revealed that, the ISIS organization has recruited retired Soviet army officers, as well as officers from the Arab armies, indicating that it also has seized 1700 American bullet-proof Hummer vehicles.

Barzani said in an interview with the British newspaper 'Life' followed by IraqiNews.com, "ISIS has experts from various countries of the world; they recruited retired officers of the former Soviet army, from countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tatarstan and Chechnya," noting that, "It has elements from Pakistain and a large number of Iraqi army officers, in addition officers from the Arab armies that have joined its ranks lately."

Barzani added, "ISIS has the so-called Caliphate/Immigrants Army that consists of fierce foreigners fighters," noting that, "The majority is from Chechnya and other neighboring countries. The dead bodies they leave behind indicate the presence of multiple nationalities, and I saw bodies of Africans as well."

Barzani stated, "ISIS elements stole weapons from the Iraqi and Syrian armies and seized some warehouses in Baiji, whose contents might require two years to transport," pointing out that, "The terrorist group has also seized 1,700 American armored bulletproof Hummer vehicles."

"The war against ISIS is harder than those fought by the Kurds against Saddam Hussein's forces," Barzani said, explaining that "ISIS is a very dangerous organization with much intolerance, expertise, money, violence and people willing to commit suicides."
Posted by:trailing wife

#14  BTW, the term "bullet-proof" is clearly a misnomer.

Maybe they captured 1,700 MRAPS. Did we leave 1,700 MRAPs behind?

And if we did what a diabolical thing to do!
Posted by: badanov   2015-02-09 20:25  

#13   Where is the funding coming from? Which state(s) is it ?

Or c) Qatar.
Posted by: Woodrow Stalin1308   2015-02-09 19:46  

#12  Besoeker: my rumint suggests: a) Turkey, b) Iran.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2015-02-09 17:13  

#11  From open-source, "Chechens" is the term being used among the IS and other groups in that region to designate Russian-speakers. Sort of like the way "African" is also being used as a designator, regardless of their origin on that continent.
Posted by: Pappy   2015-02-09 16:34  

#10  Pappy. Chechens are Chechens (and, incidentally, they do not speak Russian among themselves).
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2015-02-09 14:35  

#9  In my experience, "Chechens" is being used to designate Russian-speakers.
Posted by: Pappy   2015-02-09 14:26  

#8  (i) Chechens?
(ii) Aren't they a bit long in the tooth by now?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2015-02-09 13:27  

#7  Where is the funding coming from? Which state(s) is it ?

States that our current administration is unwilling to confront?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2015-02-09 12:47  

#6  "The terrorist group has also seized 1,700 American armored bulletproof Hummer vehicles."

Bullet resistanr, maybe. Mk82 and 30mm API proof...not so much.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2015-02-09 11:55  

#5  It's an improvement over "no training."
Posted by: Pappy   2015-02-09 11:39  

#4  They got Soviet Army officers huh?

How successful has the Red army been the last few outings?

Ya guys might want to get your money back...
Posted by: DarthVader   2015-02-09 10:01  

#3  You nailed it gorb, except there are no 'maintenance guys.' What you now have is 1700 coalition targeting confirmations, which may or may not be flying black flags. BTW, the term "bullet-proof" is clearly a misnomer.
Posted by: Besoeker   2015-02-09 03:54  

#2  1700 Hummers? I feel sorry for their maintenance guys.
Posted by: gorb   2015-02-09 03:42  

#1  ISIS is clearly now established as a mercenary army. I have always held that all terrorism is, at it's roots, 'state sponsored.' Where is the funding coming from? Which state(s) is it ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2015-02-09 03:26  

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