Report: German Intel Warns that ISIS now has the ability to Shoot Down Passenger Planes

Islamic State militants in northern Iraq have modern portable air defense systems that are capable of shooting down a passenger plane, Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported citing the country’s foreign intelligence agency.

According to the media report published on Sunday, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) informed the German Bundestag of the threat at a closed session last week.

The German intelligence agency said that the Islamic State(IS, formerly ISIS) militants located in northern Iraq have obtained air-defense systems from the captured military arsenal of the Syrian Army, according to the report.

The IS militants have obtained the 1970s models as well as modern man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). These light-weight surface-to-air missile systems can be fired from the shoulder and operated by one person.

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“Unlike other air defense weapons, MANPADS are easy to use, barely-trained militiamen can fire the weapon accurately,” the report said, adding that the weapons are especially dangerous for landing or taking off aircrafts.

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