Alarming! Components made by Indian companies used in Islamic State bombs: Report

New Delhi: Components made by at least seven Indian companies ended up in making explosives used by the dreaded Islamic State (IS) group, a study has found.

According to a European Union (EU) study, besides the Indian companies, components made in 19 other countries were also used in making IS bombs.

A total of 51 companies from countries, including Turkey, Brazil, India and the US, produced, sold or received the components used by Islamic State (IS) to build improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Reuters reported quoting the study.

The militant group is producing IEDs on a “quasi-industrial scale” -- by using both industrial components, which are regulated, and widely available equipment such as fertiliser chemicals and mobile phones, the news agency said citing the Conflict Armament Research (CAR), which undertook the study.

The militant group controls vast swathes of Iraq and Syria.

A total of 13 Turkish firms were found to be involved in the supply chain, the most in any one country. That was followed by India with seven, the report said.

“These findings support growing international awareness that IS forces in Iraq and Syria are very much self-sustaining – acquiring weapons and strategic goods, such as IED components, locally and with ease,” the report quoted James Bevan, Executive Director, CAR, as saying.

The sale of these cheap and readily available parts, some of which are not subject to government export licences, is far less scrutinised and regulated than the transfer of weapons, the report said.

The EU report said that the components were legally exported under government-issued licences from India to entities in Lebanon and Turkey.

Companies from Brazil, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic were also involved, the report found.