[sidekick: Austrian public TV reported twoday that Steyr-Mannlicher has 
a new owner as of twoday, who issued a statement today: "The embargo 
issued by the US is of no importance, since it is only valid for US 
federal agencies, which have not been a customer of Steyr-Mannlicher 
before." dm+]

Ein Embargo der USA für den österreichischen Waffenproduzenten, das ist 
doch ungewöhnlich.

Das Embargo besteht noch immer, sagte der neue Eigentümer Franz 
Holzschuh, es habe aber de facto kaum Auswirkungen auf den Export. Denn 
es gilt nur auf den Einkauf der Bundesbehörden, also der US- Armee, und 
sie war auch vorher kein Kunde bei Steyr Mannlicher.]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/13/wiran13.xml

Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:58am GMT 13/02/2007

Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered 
in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body 
armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.

The guns were part of a shipment of 800 rifles that the Austrian 
company, Steyr-Mannlicher, exported legally to Iran last year.

The sale was condemned in Washington and London because officials were 
worried that the weapons would be used by insurgents against British and 
American troops.

Within 45 days of the first HS50 Steyr Mannlicher rifles arriving in 
Iran, an American officer in an armoured vehicle was shot dead by an 
Iraqi insurgent using the weapon.

Over the last six months American forces have found small caches of the 
£10,000 rifles but in the last 24 hours a raid in Baghdad brought the 
total to more than 100, US defence sources reported.

The find is the latest in a series of discoveries that indicate that 
Teheran is providing support to Iraq's Shia insurgents.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, yesterday denied that Iran 
had supplied weapons to Iraqi insurgents. But on Sunday US officials in 
Baghdad displayed a range of weapons they claimed had originated in Iran.

They said 170 American and British soldiers had been killed by such weapons.

The discovery of the sniper rifles will further encourage those in 
Washington who want to see Iran's uranium-enriching facilities destroyed 
before a nuclear weapon is produced.

The Foreign Office expressed "serious concerns" over the sale of the 
rifles last year and Britain protested to the Austrian government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night: "Although we did make our 
worries known the sale unfortunately went ahead and now the potential 
that these weapons could fall into the wrong hands appears to have 
happened."

The rifle can pierce all body armour from up to a mile and penetrate 
armoured Humvee troop carriers.

It is highly accurate and fires a round called an armour piercing 
incendiary, a bullet that the Iranians manufacture.

The National Iranian Police Organisation bought the rifles allegedly to 
use them against drug smugglers in an £8 million order placed with Steyr 
in 2005.

The company was given permission to export them by the Austrian 
government, which is not a Nato member.

+++



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