Sniper rifles go from Austria, to Iran, to Iraq

In January of 2006 Austria sold sniper rifles to Iran, going against the wishes of the United States. The US feared these rifles might find their way into Iraq. Those fears have become reality. US troops have found more than a hundred Austrian-made sniper rifles during raids on insurgents in Baghdad.

The original story gives these details:

HS50 Steyr-Mannlicher .50 calibre rifles can pierce body armour from up to a mile, shoot down helicopters and penetrate Humvee troop carriers that have not been fully reinforced.

The weapons are highly accurate and fire a round called an armour-piercing incendiary, a bullet that the Iranians manufacture. [snip]

Iran allegedly bought the rifles to combat drug smugglers pouring through the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The order, worth an estimated £8 million, was placed with Steyr last year and the company was given government permission to export the weapons.(Telegraph)

In my article (read it all here) I shared this:

Who would have thought we needed to worry about Austria helping Iran??? According to my Friend Dan Taxson, at Dan in the Desert, who brought this to my attention:

Politically, this is a big upset, but here on the ground, there are technical issues that might limit this impact.

.50 cal rounds are harder to get, unlike the 7.62mm rounds used in Kalashnikovs. And “good” snipers have an average 300-400 meter effective range. That said, these rifles can still cause some serious damage, and they probably wouldn’t be used that far away anyhow. But yes, they will probably make their way across the border.

That was one year ago. Today this is the news (a big hat tip to Bruce):

The report comes days after top US Defence officials said that sophisticated Iranian-built bombs smuggled into Iraq have killed at least 170 US and allied soldiers since June 2004 and wounded 620 more.

According to The Daily Telegraph, within 45 days of the HS50 Steyr-Mannlicher rifles arriving in Iran, a US soldier in an armoured vehicle was killed by an Iraqi insurgent using one of the weapons.

US troops had found in the past six months small numbers of the rifles, which each cost 10,000 pounds (15,000 euros, 19,500 dollars), but a raid in Baghdad over the last 24 hours has increased that total to more than a hundred. (Khaleej Times OnLine)

These rifles are being used against American troops. Thank you Austria. We won't forget your acts of kindness toward American soldiers. You have put money ahead of everything else.

Astrid Harz of the Foreign Ministry said the Austrian government's approval of the deal in late 2004 "had been legal and correct based on the Austrian legal regulations." [snip]

Each gun costs around 15,000 euros (19,500 dollars).

In 2005 and 2006, no exports to Iran were approved, as the geopolitical situation in Iran changed, the Austrian Interior Ministry said. (Playfuls.com)

We will be updating as more information is available.