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An investigation has been launched into how so many Toyotas ended up in the hands of ISIS .

The car maker's trucks, particularly Toyota Hilux pickups and Toyota Land Cruisers, have appeared in the terror group's propaganda videos in Iraq, Syria and Libya, loaded with heavy weapons and packed full with terrorists.

Mark Wallace, a former US Ambassador to the United Nations, who is CEO of the Counter Extremism Project, told ABC News : “Regrettably, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux have effectively become almost part of the ISIS brand."

Toyota said it did not know how its vehicles ended up there.

Toyota spokesman Ed Lewis told CNN it was impossible for any car manufacturer to control vehicles being stolen or being resold by independent third parties.

But he said: "Toyota has a strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, and we have procedures and contractual commitments in place to help prevent our products from being diverted for unauthorized military use."

Mr Lewis added that the investigation into Toyota was part of a broader US Treasury enquiry looking into how money and resources reaches ISIS.

He said: "Our understanding is that Treasury has been conducting a broad review of supply chains and the flow of goods into the Middle East, including financial institutions, manufacturers and energy companies."

(Image: Getty)

The Iraqi ambassador to the US Lukman Faily told ABC News that his government believed ISIS had acquired "hundreds" of "brand new" Toyotas in recent years.

“This is a question we’ve been asking our neighbours. How could these brand new trucks,these four wheel drives, hundreds of them, where are they coming from?” he asked.

ISIS videos have also shown small numbers of other brands including Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Isuzu.

(Image: Getty)

The US Treasury would not comment which other companies were involved in their investigation.

But it said there were ongoing efforts to understand how ISIS gets funding.

The department said in a statement: "In line with our usual approach to understanding ISIL's financial and economic activities, we are working closely with foreign counterparts and stakeholders worldwide."