The fleet of Toyotas owned by ISIS has left US officials worried. The videos and images of ISIS fighters riding in similar looking Toyota pick-ups and Land Cruisers has put up a question mark as to where are they sourcing so many Toyota vehicles from, a report on ABC news suggests. To dig deeper into the issues, authorities have asked Toyota to cooperate with the officials in divulging details on the source of ISIS owned Toyotas.
One of the company’s most powerful and sturdy pick-ups, Hilux is also seen in the videos and images of the ISIS. The robust pick-up, Hilux is a truck of choice in the war zones across the world and is being used abundantly by ISIS fighters as shown in their propaganda videos. ISIS’s videos show convoys of Hilux trucks and Land Cruisers that has alarmed the U.S Treasury Counter-Terrorism Unit. In fact, the officials have asked Toyota to help them determine the source and number of Toyotas owned by ISIS (including new and older ones).
According to the CEO, Counter Extremism project, Mark Wallace, the supporters of ISIS are buying these vehicles from the Toyota dealerships and handing them over to the terror group. On the other hand, the Iraqi Ambassador claims that ISIS has hundreds of brand new Toyota vehicles in their fleet. However, Toyota has absolutely no clue, as to where the ISIS terror group is sourcing its vehicles from.
There are even chances of indirect and black-market sales which are unlikely to be controlled. While the company is tight lipped on the matter, the growing number of Toyota vehicles in the terror group made the American officials and the U.S Treasury Counter-Terrorism Unitanxious. Interestingly, the Hilux pick-up truck was even tested for its rigidity by the BBC Top Gear Auto Show and proved to be a seemingly indestructible truck.
The pick-up truck has been into existence since 1968 when the first generation of the model was launched. Over the years, the truck has witnessed several generation changes and was even caught testing in India early in January this year. Sharing most of the cues with Fortuner and Innova Crysta, the India-bound Hilux (in launched in India) is expected to be priced above these two models in terms of pricing.
