The M9’s strange Iraqi cousin: The Tariq (PHOTOS)

By Chris Eger

The Tariq was licensed by Beretta for production in Iraq and, though a nearly 70-year-old design, is apparently still being made there. (Photos: Eric B.)
A reader responded to an article about the old-school-cool Beretta M1951 pistol and upped the ante with his own Iraqi variant.
Developed in the late 1940s by the Italian military to replace the old .32- and .380-caliber Beretta pistols used during World War II, the Modello 1951 was the company’s most successful handgun until the 1970s. It brought a number of improvements to the table and evolved during its design phase from a typically understated European pistol to one whose features stand side-by-side with the best combat pistols of today– such as the Beretta M9.
Guns.com reader Eric B. reached out to fill in the blanks on a version of the M1951 rarely seen outside of the sandbox — the Beretta-licensed Iraqi Tariq pistol.
Made by Al-Qadisiyyah in great numbers, many Americans who have served in CENTCOM have encountered one of these so-called “Saddam Berettas” but only a small handful have made it over to the states and Eric was lucky enough to acquire one.

“I haven’t a clue what year it was built, but it certainly has been

Source: Guns.com