Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1258433
Another way to source firearms is seen in trafficking. And this source is quite unlimited, to be frank. Here, demand and supply mechanism func- tions as it would on any marketplace. Weaponry is easily accessible in states where demand occurs. Some- times the above concerns the illegal conversion of gas pistols or guns that have been neutralized. In this case, weapons as such are usually modi- fied at specialized illegal workshops, before they are received by the ter- rorists. Vz. 58 rifles and TT pistols as such were owned by the terror- ist that created a hostage situation at the supermarket in Paris back in 2015. His collaborators, the Koua- chi brothers, have got their guns in another way. They were armed with Zastava M70AB2 rifles and Zastava M57 pistols, as well as an- ti-tank grenade launcher (that was not used here). The inventory set above clearly suggests the shape of the supply chain. During the con- flicts in the Balkans, major quantities of weapons were being transferred to the hands of armies of the newly born states, guerilla or even private rebels, or even into the hands of pri- vate persons. This pertained both to the former Yugoslavia, as well as Albania - there, more than 500,000 firearms got into the hands of the civilians in 1997, straight from the military warehouses. Furthermore, one should also remember about the supply of arms during the conflict. Nobody cared about keeping records or supervising that matter. Thus, it is not surprising that the ones behind a massacre at the Bat - aclan concert hall were armed with three AKs, one Yugoslavian, one Bul- garian, and one Albanian (Chinese Type 56). Other examples show that Kalashnikov rifles are overrepresent- ed in the terrorist arsenal, which may be tied to saturation of the black market with the AK and its deriva- tives. That matter is also relevant, as instruction manuals and handbooks published by the terrorists encour- age the readers to acquire weapons illegally. On the other hand, the acts of terror in the US show the terror- ists choose different weapons. Back in 2015, in San Bernardino, the ter- rorists used two AR-15 clones and two pistols. In Orlando - an SIG MCX and Glock 17 were used - these guns were relatively easy to procure. What's interesting, the instructions do not tell a lot, when it comes to the employment of firearms. The ones that mention this, focus on the selec- tion of targets and/or the bare basics of operating the guns. Sometimes, the tips are ridiculous, reading: „learn tactics playing Call of Duty". Only some could go through training, especially if they left Europe to fight in Syria or other places. However, even the ones who have gone through military training or training that would be similar do not use weapons that offer more fire - power than an automatic rifle. Al- though using a sniper rifle could be effective (especially against persons using bodyguard services) and safer for the terrorists, attacks as such do not happen. No events happen with the involvement of machine guns. For many years other types of weapons (such as grenade launchers) have been in decline as well. Not only is the above related to the availability of such weapons, as the primary rea - son for this is seen in the availabil- ity of the training activities. Even if someone steals/buys a rifle, a sniper scope, to plan an attack, solely us- ing the Internet and YouTube as the resource, the probability of creating real damage is fairly low. The scenario in which the terror- ist engages in sporting events (ac- tion shooting in particular) or other guns-related activities (hunting) and thus they can access training facil- ities and instructors, analogously to 9/11 and the flying training, may seem credible at the first glance. Some right-wing organizations, in ANALYSIS