The best business in Iraq: Kurdish gunsmith profits on civil war

Bahktiyar Sadr-Aldeen has seen his business shoot up by 50% since last June, when the Islamic State group took over the Mosul. The Kurdish fighting force known as the pershmerga has been at war against the Sunni extremists ever since, keeping Aldeen busy. Just 36 years old, Sadr-Aldeen already has more than a quarter-century of experience, making him the peshmerga’s top gunsmith in the region. He says he now fixes eight to 10 weapons a day. Sometimes he goes out to the front lines himself, mostly to repair heavy weapons that can’t be transported. The peshmerga send a car and take him out to the front to do his work. He said he does not charge for the battlefield repairs, saying that is his way of supporting the cause.

Weapons naturally break during the fighting, and there’s no professional company that can fix these weapons. That’s why I fix them. We can’t just throw them away, because we are in war.

Bahktiyar Sadr-Aldeen, gun owner and Iraqi Kurd, on why he’s taken up the cause

Sadr-Aldeen, now a father of five, has been working in the shop since he was a child, with pictures hanging on the walls to prove it. He took over the business when he was just 11 years old after his father was arrested by the forces of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. His father spent 10 years in prison and today is unable to work because of health issues.

Middle East Islamic State