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The DIY Cannons Used by Syrian Rebels Are Getting Sophisticated

They're not exploding turkey deep fryers anymore.

​The last time we looked into the DIY 'Hell's Canon' wielded by Syrian rebels, it was comparable to an exploding turkey deep fryer. Accuracy? Nil. Sophistication? Basic.

All that has clearly changed since the Islamic Front, a rebel group operating in Aleppo and battling a nasty cocktail of Assad forces and ISIS, published a new video ​on its YouTube account of its latest iteration of the terrifying cannon.

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Related: The Frontline of DIY Weaponry Is in Syria

Instead of looking like an exploding iron tube flying off the ground, this new cannon looks more like a WWI howitzer spewing rockets.

The group has even rigged up a commercial truck with a heavy machine gun.

In yet another lesson in never underestimating human ingenuity when it comes to murdering people, the Islamic Front's do-it-yourself cannon has gone from rusted barrel to semi-sophisticated weapons system.

In the cannon video the large, wheeled systems are seen firing a rocket with a large projectile dropping down and exploding in the distance—​​​not completely unlike the Anti-Tank Guided Missile systems (ATGM) the CIA might've given other rebel groups.

Though it's known American weaponry is slowly trickling down to rebel groups opposing Assad or the Islamic State, ​groups like the Islamic Front still remain outgunned and outmanned by their enemies.

While Assad forces wield heavy artillery, fighter planes, and tanks, (ISIS having similar American weapons)—rebel groups need heavy weapons capabilities, too. That's why jury-rigging some pipes and a projectile in a​ DIY we​apons factory is the only answer. Because as it stands, western support is still piecemeal.

If nothing else, a few years of patchwork war clearly makes Syrian rebels proficient weapons makers. American potato cannons be damned.