The seriousness of the issue can be judged by the fact that Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda terrorists could potentially also use Facebook to buy an anti-aircraft rocket launcher capable of blowing a passenger jet out of the sky. The report says that one of the weapons for sale is a Manpads, or man-portable air defence systems, a type of missile launcher capable of bringing down both civilian and military jets. The Manpad is being sold for $67,000 on a Facebook page called ‘The First Weapons Market in Idlib (Syria) Countryside’ according to the report. The Manpads are sold by Syrian rebels but these weapons could easily find their way in the hands of ISIS or Al-Qaeda and be used to bring civilian airliners down. The report says that another post on the page shows an AGS-17 Soviet-Era grenade launcher available for $3,800. While a member’s message reads, “Quick friends, I need a gun with a silencer.” The page also hosts an advert for a TOW missile launcher, which the seller claims comes from “The US Pentagon”. CIA has already been in midst of a controversy for supplying TOWs to selected rebel groups in Syria and Iraq since the civil war erupted in 2011. The indication that all such arms could land in ISIS hands is that a member of the page and Idlib resident, Youssef Yassim is seen posing with an ISIS flag in his profile and is using the Facebook page to buy a “thermal camera” – used for hunting at night.
