The study, conducted by the London-based small-arms research organization Conflict Armament Research, documented arms captured by Kurdish forces from militants over a period of 10 days toward the end of July.

According to the investigation, the ISIL militants have been using “significant quantities” of arms including M16 assault rifles marked “property of the US government’.

The weapons were originally given to the so-called moderate anti-government militants in Syria, the study found.

“They (the ISIL militants) are transporting these weapons in batches, and have a solid organizational approach to moving these weapons around,” said field investigator Shawn Harris.

The report also found that anti-tank missiles used by militants against the Syrian army were “identical to the M79 rockets transferred by Saudi Arabia to forces operating under the [so-called] Free Syrian Army umbrella in 2013."

The ISIL terrorists, of whom many are foreign militants, currently control parts of eastern Syria and Iraq’s northern and western regions, where they have been committing heinous crimes in the captured areas, including the mass execution of civilians and Iraqi security forces.

The ISIL terrorists have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, in their advances in the region.

This is while the Western governments have contributed to the rise of the ISIL terrorists by sponsoring the militants fighting against the government in Syria.

RA/NJF