Above photo: A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, on the outskirts of Dohuk, northern Iraq, on October 21, 2019. Reuters.
Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal “sensitive weapons and equipment” have been stolen from US bases in Iraq and Syria.
US military bases in Iraq and Syria are plagued by thefts of weapons and equipment, a report from The Intercept published on 26 November has shown.
Criminal investigation documents obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act show that “multiple sensitive weapons and equipment” — including guided missile launch systems as well as drones — have been stolen in Iraq.
This follows hundreds of thousands of dollars in military equipment stolen from US troops in Iraq and Syria between 2020 and 2022, as reported previously by The Intercept.
Officials in Washington claim the US bases in Iraq and Syria are needed to conduct “counter-ISIS missions,” but Russian and Syrian officials have said that US forces support ISIS, which continues to target the Syrian army.
Groups like Amnesty International and Conflict Armament Research also found that a substantial portion of the weapons used by ISIS during the Syria war between 2014 and 2018 were either US-made or US-purchased.
The US military could not account for $715.8 million of military equipment distributed in 2017 and 2018 to Syrian armed groups allegedly fighting ISIS.
US officials have also acknowledged the Syrian and Iraqi bases are needed to maintain the US occupation of large swathes of northeastern Syria, where most of the country’s oil lies. This gives US officials leverage against the Syrian government and hinders reconstruction following more than a decade of war.
The Intercept reports that in February, military investigators were notified that 13 commercial drones were stolen from a US facility in Erbil, Iraq. The agents identified no suspects, and no leads are mentioned in the file.
A separate investigation discovered that $480,000 worth of “multiple sensitive weapons and equipment,” including targeting sight and launcher units for Javelin missiles, were stolen at or en route to Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq.
According to the military investigators, “No known U.S. personnel were involved.” Instead, the investigators blamed locals.
“Iraqi criminal organizations and militia groups target convoys and containers for weapons and equipment,” the documents stated. “Further there have been systemic issues with U.S. containers being pilfered by these groups and local nationals outside of Union III, due to the lack of security.”
Earlier this year, The Intercept revealed at least four significant thefts and one loss of US weapons and equipment in Iraq and Syria from 2020 to 2022, including 40mm high-explosive grenades, armor-piercing rounds, specialized field artillery tools and equipment, and unspecified “weapons systems.” Two of the incidents took place at bases in Syria, and three were in Iraq.
Earlier this year, the US Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve admitted to The Intercept that it does not know the extent of the problem.
A spokesperson said the task force has no record of any thefts from US forces. “[W]e do not have the requested information,” Capt. Kevin T. Livingston, then CJTF-OIR’s director of public affairs, told The Intercept when asked if any weapons, ammunition, or equipment were stolen in the last five years.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza on 7 October, US bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 70 times — 36 times in Iraq, 37 in Syria, while more than 60 US personnel have been wounded.