Iraqi forces use drones to fight IS militants

The Iraqi Federal Police (IFP) is using commercial drones to attack Islamic State militants (IS) in western Mosul, according to media reports.

Drones carrying munitions are being sent to battlefields which are then dropped on IS positions, a recent police video shows. 

The DJI Matrice 100 quadcopters were purchased by the IFP from DJI technology, a privately owned Chinese technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Jane's Defence Weekly reports.

Members of the Iraqi forces prepare to fly a drone armed with grenades in the fight against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on March 14, 2017. [Photo: CFP]

The drones are mainly used for civilian purposes such as taking aerial photographs, and neither the government nor the company itself are able to control the flow of their products, and so anyone can buy them on the open market, guancha.cn reports. 

The video shows the drones loaded with munitions, with two 'shuttlecocks' attached as stabilizers, which are then remotely controlled by the IFP on the ground.

A member of the Iraqi forces carries two grenades, which are then fired from the drone in the fight against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on March 14, 2017. [Photo: CFP]

A DJI Matrice 100 quadcopter costs 3,300 US dollars without a camera, according to Jane's Defence Weekly. 

Islamic State militants have also been using relatively cheap weaponized drones against government forces, according to media reports.