Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has determined that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was building an armored force.

Officials said the U.S. intelligence community detected a presence of U.S. and Russian-origin armored vehicle platforms at ISIL facilities in northern Iraq.

The officials said the platforms included armored personnel carriers, main battle tanks and armored combat vehicles.

[Flashback: Tanks, copters and cash: Bank robberies in Mosul make ISIL ‘wealthiest terrorist franchise ever’ — June 24, 2014]

“At this point, they [ISIL] seem to prefer faster wheeled vehicles rather than tracked MBTs,” an official said.

Officials said ISIL was believed to have captured up to 50 MBTs from Iraq Army bases around Mosul. They said the platforms were divided between U.S.-origin platforms, including the M1A1, as well as such older Russian models as the T-72, T-62 and T-55.

ISIL has also been seen with the U.S.-origin MRAP, or mine-resistant protected ambush, and manufactured by Oshkosh Defense. In mid-August, the U.S. Air Force was ordered to find and destroy the heavily-armored vehicle, also deployed in Afghanistan.

Officials did not rule out that some of the heavy armored platforms were taken to Syria for storage as well as to fight the Syrian Army. They cited ISIL attacks on Syrian Army bases in the Aleppo and Raqa provinces.

The most widely-used ground platform used by ISIL has been the armored Humvee, supplied by the United States. Officials said ISIL was believed to have captured up to 2,000 Humvees from Iraq Army bases and used in operations in the autonomous region of Kurdistan as well as in northern Syria.

‘ISIL knows that they remain most vulnerable to air strikes,” the official said. “So, the slower the vehicle the more vulnerable it is.”

  building ‘faster’ military force, Humvees, M1A1 tanks, MRAP, Pentagon confirms ISIL captured tanks