| A K-2C assault rifle photo posted on twitter account @green—lemon. |
A twitter post uploaded Tuesday showed photos of a K-2C assault rifle, claiming that it is available on the Iraqi black market.
"A Korean K-2C rifle ended up on the black market. The 16th & 17th Div. received some brand-new K-2s in 2015," wrote twitter account @green_lemon, which is apparently run by a military analyst focusing on Iraq and Syria.
Many military supplies imported by the Iraqi army have been looted by militants, sources said.
They added it was also not difficult to buy Korean rifles on the black market in Syria, indicating that IS has access to the assault rifles through the black markets.
Last year, the terrorist group posted a photo of a K-2 to promote their activities through social networking services. An IS member was shooting the South Korean rifle on a battlefield in northern Iraq.
The K-2C is an upgraded version of the K-2, the main assault rifle used by the South Korean Army.
The rifle was developed by the private military supplier S&T Motiv, formerly Daewoo Precision Industries, and has been exported to countries in Africa, South America, and the Middle East including Iraq since 2012.
The rifle is known to be popular among IS members for its light weight, reliability and high accuracy.
"Due to its short barrel, it seems to be popular with the IS group that engages in street battles" said Yang Wook, a fellow of the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF).
Last year, the Ministry of National Defense officially acknowledged that IS had seized the K2C assault rifle, saying the terrorist group looted those exported to Iraq.
Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) failed to confirm if the rifle was the K-2C this time. "It is hard to tell if it is a K-2C by looking at the photo," a DAPA official said.
Korean Language
"한국산 K-2C 소총, 이라크 암시장서 거래"
한국 방산업체가 제작해 이라크에 수출한 K-2C 소총이 이라크 암시장에서 거래되고 있다는 사진이 트위터를 통해 퍼지고 있다.
이라크와 시리아 정보를 제공하는 '그린 레몬'이란 트위터 계정은 26일(현지시간) 한국산 K-2C 소총이 암시장에 매물로 나왔다며 관련 사진을 공개했다.
이 사진에는 K-2C 소총과 함께 비닐 포장이 뜯기지 않은 탄창과 손잡이 등이 함께 촬영돼 사용되지 않은 제품으로 추정된다.
K-2C 소총은 지난해 6월에는 수니파 무장조직인 '이슬람국가'(IS)가 손에 넣은 것으로 확인됐다.
이라크 북부 살라후딘 주의 IS 지부가 이 지역에서 벌어진 교전 장면을 홍보한 사진에는 IS 조직원이 K-2C 소총을 쏘는 모습이 촬영됐다. (연합뉴스)