--- title: "Rebels in Syria fought with rare, expensive Nazi-made rifles" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/rebels-in-syria-fought-with-rare-expensive-nazi-made-rifles/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # Rebels in Syria fought with rare, expensive Nazi-made rifles ![]() World War II history buffs are going to lose their minds. A Syrian rebel faction called the al-Tawhid Brigade stumbled on an arms cache of 5,000 German WWII-era Sturmgwehr 44 (STG-44) rifles. --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EsCle4ooM0 The STG-44 was designed to increase the volume of fire for German infantry units fighting on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Red Army. It accomplished this mission but was developed too late in the war to make an impact. ![]() *A German soldier demonstrates a Sturmgwehr equipped with a scope during testing in 1943.* The rebels thought they'd found a cache of Ak-47s. The two don't look that much alike, but it's understandable how the ill-armed and ill-equipped group would get excited at their find anyway. ![]() *AK-47 vs. STG-44* Besides, there's little reason to see how 5,000 Nazi-built rifles worth an estimated $30,000 apiece ended up in the Syrian desert. The al-Tawhid Brigade was an Islamist faction originally allied with the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Coalition against the government of Bashar al-Asad. In 2013, the al-Tawhid Brigade along with 11 other factions, would leave the Coalition and join al-Qaeda. That same year, [its head commander died of wounds]() sustained in a Syrian government air strike and the group's membership would defect to the various other groups fighting pro-Asad forces. The group is now defunct. There is no word on what happened to the rare, expensive Nazi relics. For those keeping tabs at home, that's a $150 million dollar loss. Keep an eye out for those STG-44s. They've shown up in state-sponsored gun buybacks in [California]() and [Connecticut](). ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()