Syria crisis: Rebels harness technology to conflict

In recent weeks, attention in Syria has been on the use of chemical weapons but on Sunday, Mohammed Abdellah, a Reuters photographer, captured the rebel fighters using an iPad to launch attacks.

It has been suggested that iHandy Level Free, known as Apple’s very own carpenter is helping the rebels to aim mortars. Apple’s licensing agreement forbids its use in “the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons”. The iPad, has, however, been used for a while, according to the weapons analyst Eliot Higgins. “It’s quite common,” he told The Times.

Improvised weapons are not new in the Syrian civil war. Carpenters and plumbers have turned into proficient armourers. The ingenious improvisations include “grenades” fashioned from ornamental balls; catapults for firing incendiaries; and “armoured cars” of corrugated iron sheets bolted on to pick-up trucks.