ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish Peshmerga forces – who have been targeted by deadly drones that the Islamic State (ISIS) is using as its new weapon in Iraq – have been surprised by the sophistication of the aircraft, which the militants are using both for surveillance and killing soldiers.
US troops were issued a new warning this month about touching any model planes or drones found on the battlefield, after two Kurdish soldiers were killed by a booby-trapped drone on October 2.
Kurdish General Salar Taymour told Rudaw last week that an ISIS surveillance drone captured by the Peshmerga had provided a glimpse into some of the sophisticated technology in the hands of the militants, at a time when the clock is ticking for an anticipated offensive to evict ISIS from its Mosul stronghold in northern Iraq.
After the Peshmerga retrieved the footage from the captured drone, “We saw what they were filming,” Taymour said. “It could spot even the brand of bottled water a soldier was drinking on the ground. Imagine the quality level of the camera.”
Taymour added that former military personnel from Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baathist regime – who are an important element inside ISIS -- are responsible for most of the intelligence gathering for ISIS. “They’re all very well-educated and know what they’re doing,” he said.
“Before each attack ISIS carries out, they send these drones to see what the Peshmerga are doing, where the troops are or find free space,” he explained. “After that, when they have seen everything, they form a battle plan and identify targets.”
Taymour went on to add that most ISIS drones or model aircraft are made by the militants themselves or brought in from Syria.
On Wednesday, a French government spokesman and a Kurdish official confirmed the October 2 incident, in which a remote-controlled ISIS drone rigged with explosives killed two Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and wounded two French Special Forces soldiers. It was the first incident of its kind.
Meanwhile Jabar Yawar, the Peshmerga chief of staff, told Reuters that, "It seems it (the drone) was booby-trapped.”
The French Le Monde newspaper reported that the drone crashed when intercepted mid-flight near Duhok in the Kurdistan Region, close to where the French soldiers were training the Peshmerga.
After they approached the drone to examine it the explosion occurred, killing the two Peshmerga and wounding their French advisors.
Le Monde reported that it remains unclear how exactly the drone's explosives were detonated.
The New York Times reported this week that ISIS has tried to use small drones to launch attacks at least twice before, both times on Iraqi troops.
“Military officials said that the Pentagon has dedicated significant resources to stopping drones, but that few Iraqi and Kurdish units have been provided with the sophisticated devices that the American troops have to disarm them,” the Times report said. “The officials said they have ordered the Pentagon agency in charge of dealing with explosive devices — known as the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization — to study ways to thwart hostile drones. This summer, the Pentagon requested an additional $20 million from Congress to help address the problem.”
American advisers say drones could be deployed against coalition forces by ISIS in the battle in Mosul, the Times said.
Meanwhile, US Marine teams working with Iraqi Special Forces may be receiving a new surveillance drone that the military says will provide “a broader picture of what's happening on the battlefield,” according to the military.com website.
The RQ-21A Blackjack has a range of about 50 nautical miles and can fly for 16 hours at a stretch, the website reported.
