Here comes yet another body blow for the reeling auto industry. Toyota has been put on the spot by the US government, which has asked the Japanese car maker to explain just how Islamic State has got hold of hundreds of its four-wheel-drive vehicles. The Toyota Hilux pickup — a model similar to the Toyota Tacoma sold in the US — and Toyota Land Cruisers have become fixtures in the terror group’s propaganda videos, according to media reports late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“Regrettably, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux have effectively become almost part of the ISIS brand,” said one former US ambassador to the UN, Mark Wallace, quoted in an ABC News report.