Britain, France and the United States provided most of the weapons being used by ISIS to carry out appalling war crimes, a new report claims.
As the UK joins its allies in carrying out airstrikes in Syria, the Government has come in for renewed accusations of having sown the seeds of conflict itself.
A new study by Amnesty International claims much of the weaponry used by ISIS fighters was supplied by the same Western powers now trying to bomb it out of existence.
Huge supplies of guns, rifles, mortars and missiles have been flowing into Iraq for years as the state struggled to retain control after British and American forces withdrew.
Oliver Sprague, Amnesty UK’s Arms Programme Director, said: "Decades of free-flowing arms into Iraq meant that when ISIS took control of these areas, they were like children in a sweetshop.
"The fact that countries including the UK have ended up inadvertently arming ISIS, should give us pause over current weapons deals.
"The UK was one of the key supporters of a global Arms Trade Treaty, intended to prevent the proliferation of arms and their use in horrific abuses like IS are committing."
They included US-manufactured weapons and military vehicles which they then used to take control of other parts of the country.
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