United States to Toyota: How Is ISIS Getting Your Trucks, SUVs?

Toyota, for its part, said that the sales of Hilux pick-ups and Land Cruisers in Iraq dropped to 13,000 previous year, after they tripled from 6,000 sold in Iraq in 2011 to 18,000 sold in 2013.

ISIS propaganda videos filmed in Iraq, Syria, and Libya show numerous Hilux and Land Cruiser vehicles marked with ISIS seals, including one video ABC News says was shot in Raqqa, Syria, featuring an ISIS parade where more than two-thirds of the vehicles were Toyotas.

According to Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, Lukma Faily, while the ISIS has acquired older models, his government believes that the terrorists have now taken a hold of “hundreds” of newer models in the past several years.

The company also said it has protections and contractual commitments in place that are supposed to keep their vehicles from being sent to those who would use them for unauthorized fighting and military uses.

“We are committed to complying fully with the laws and regulations of each country or region where we operate, and require our dealers and distributors to do the same”, Toyota’s statement says.

While we all know Toyota makes very good trucks, we think it’s kind of ridiculous how the USA officials regard cutting access to new Toyotas for ISIS as a means of fighting the organization.

In 2014, the US State Department reportedly delivered 43 Toyota trucks to Syrian rebels, within the framework of its program on supporting the so-called moderate Syrian opposition. Wallace said he doesn’t think Toyota is “trying to intentionally profit from it, but they are on notice now and they should do more”.

Treasury officials told ABC News they could not comment publicly about the agency’s engagement with specific private companies.

“We can not provide further details of our interaction with Treasury as we do not want to compromise its efforts to understand and prevent diversion, or make it easier for illicit groups to penetrate our supply chains or those of any other company”, Lewis said.

“In line with our usual approach to understanding ISIL’s financial and economic activities, we are working closely with foreign counterparts and stakeholders worldwide”, the Treasury Department said.