Toyota willing to help investigate ISIS truck fleet

Toyota said Wednesday it was willing to help the U.S. find out how ISIS has managed to get hold of so many of its notoriously tough trucks. The Japanese manufacturer responded after an ABC News report on Wednesday said counter-terrorism officials at the U.S. Treasury have been in contact with the auto giant over the issue.

Fleets of Toyota trucks are a common feature of IS propaganda videos out of Syria, Iraq and Libya - many converted into fast moving heavy gun platforms known as "technicals."

"We are supporting the U.S. Treasury Department's broader inquiry into international supply chains and the flow of capital and goods in the Middle East," Toyota said in a statement. "Toyota has a strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities," it said.

Toyota's pick-up trucks - as well as similar vehicles made by Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Isuzu - have long been favored by a host of militias, insurgencies and armies around the world thanks to their affordability, adaptability and durability.

The final stages of a conflict in the late 1980s between Libya and Chad are often referred to as the "The Toyota War" because of the military successes Chadian soldiers had thanks to the fast moving pick-ups.

Determined to test the reputation of Toyota trucks, BBC's Top Gear program once famously tried to destroy a Toyota pickup by setting it ablaze, hitting it with §ºa wrecking ball and even putting it on top of a building that was then blown up.

Each time mechanics using a basic toolkit managed to bring the battered 4x4 back to life. The Islamic State group, which has seized huge amounts of military hardware during its rise, boasts large numbers of pickup trucks in its videos.

"ISIS has used these vehicles in order to engage in military-type activities, terror activities, and the like," Mark Wallace, a former U.S. Ambassador who now runs a counter terrorism project, told ABC News.

"In nearly every ISIS video, they show a convoy of Toyota vehicles and that's very concerning to us," he added.

The same report quoted Iraqi officials saying they feared new pickup trucks were being smuggled into ISIS held territory from neighboring countries.

In a statement, Toyota said it had strict "procedures and contractual commitments" in place to try and stop the vehicles from falling into the wrong hands. "However, it is impossible for any automaker to control indirect or illegal channels through which our vehicles could be misappropriated, stolen or re-sold by independent third parties," the statement added.